


The Initiative

by MTC1020



Series: The Ancient Assassin [4]
Category: Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-03-06 09:11:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 106,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13408038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MTC1020/pseuds/MTC1020
Summary: The team is all back together and getting more additions. Since returning from their trip, Mark and Steve hit the ground running by recruiting members for the new imitative, The Young Avengers. Along the way Steve's past comes out as he meets many of the higher ups of SHIELD, and those members meet Mark. Mark quickly makes enemies and puts Steve in a difficult spot on how to cope with his past and what he wants for his future. Will the relationship hold as the threat begin to divide the team members and each member picking a side? Will Steve be able to help Mark overcome the threats now coming from the higher ups or will Steve stand to the side for Mark to battle the threat on his own?





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
Andrea  
Andrea checked the address in the file as Mark pulled up to the house.   
“This is the place,” Andrea confirmed.   
“Yeah we only got lost three times finding it, and that was with GPS to help us,” Mark said in frustration as he put the car in park.   
“I blame Tony for that. He should have known better than to send us to meet this family out in another state we know nothing about. He knows how bad we are with directions,” Andrea said putting the file on the floor between her feet.   
“Yeah well, he has been in meetings left and right about this damn initiative. I can’t believe we are doing this nonsense,” Mark said leaning back in his seat.   
“Oh come on,” Andrea said looking over to Mark. “What is so bad about this idea? It makes sense to have multiple teams in other parts of the country and in other countries.”  
“The bad part of it,” Mark said glaring at Andrea, “is we will have gremlins all around us all days of the week. It’s going to be like high school in that damn mansion.”  
“Suck it up buttercup,” Andrea said smiling. “Steve was excited about the idea of the young members coming to train with us.”  
“Yeah,” Mark said sighing. “He was.”  
Andrea tilted her head in confusion. “Something wrong? You two have been happy as clams since you guys got back from vacation.”  
“Hooker, what’s with all the idioms?” Mark asked.   
Andrea paused and thought for a second, “Well butter…clams…I want food. We need to get something to eat once we talk to this family,” Andrea said as she opened the door.   
“Agreed,” Mark said as he stepped out of the car. “So who is it we are meeting?”  
“It’s a foster family. The kid’s name is Greer Nelson. She was taken in after the person experimenting on her caused the other test subjects to die. Greer is the only survivor. Her code name is Tigra. She has been here in Chicago trying to move on from the loss and trauma she suffered. She doesn’t have anyone other than this family. They are only involved to ensure she doesn’t get captured again,” Andrea explained.   
“Holy crap,” Mark said walking forward.   
“Yeah, looks like we are one of her last hopes,” Andrea said walking up to the house. Andrea rang the doorbell, and they waited. Mark and Andrea knew how this whole thing would go, what questions would be asked and how the family would feel about their kid joining this initiative. They never had someone say no to them, not matter how much the parents worried for their child. The door opened, and they saw a young woman standing there.   
“Hey there, are your parents home?” Andrea asked. The young girl looked at Andrea then at Mark.   
“You two must be from S.H.I.E.L.D. They’re here, and I am packed so let me know when I am leaving,” The young woman said.   
“You must be Greer. Jumping the gun, a bit aren’t you? We haven’t even spoken to your foster parents, and we won’t be bringing you to the Avenger Mansion for another few weeks,” Mark said.   
Greer sighed and opened the door. “I was afraid you would say that. They are in the living room,” Greer said.   
Andrea stepped in first, and Mark followed. “Hello?” Andrea said as she walked forward. “Greer let us in, hope you don’t mind…” Andrea froze when she saw the sight in the living room. Greer’s foster parents were home, both passed out on the couch. The television still played, and Mark stepped next to Andrea. The both looked at one another then Mark turned to Greer. “This is why you wanted to leave with us today?” Mark asked. Greer crossed her arms and looked to the side. The foster family was supposed to be looking after Greer with everything she went through, and S.H.I.E.L.D. should have been keeping an eye on things. This was disgusting.   
“Someone is getting a black eye for this one,” Andrea said. As she walked over to turn off the television and looked at the table. Mark tried to wake up the parents, but both were out cold in an alcoholic coma it seemed.   
“They’re not waking up,” Mark said.  
“Hold on,” Andrea said as she ran out to the car. She went into the glove compartment and pulled out the first aid kit. Andrea searched in it and pulled out the smelling salt. She closed the door and ran back inside. When Andrea walked in, she saw Greer sitting near the stairs with Mark walking over to her and sitting next to her. She let them be for now.   
Andrea walked over to the parents and opened the smelling salt. She put it under each of their noses, and soon they both woke up from their slumber.   
“Who are you? If you are someone with concern, know the appointed government agency is looking after Greer. They will manage any damage she has done,” The father said to Andrea.   
“Any damage she has done?!” Andrea said in anger. “I am from S.H.I.E.L.D. you asshole. What have you two been doing while this poor girl has been living with you?”  
The mother slowly got up, “Well we just had a wild night. We are recovering is all. Nothing to be concerned about.”  
“It’s five in the evening. I think I have a lot to be concerned about. S.H.I.E.L.D. had Greer stay here to ensure you would keep her safe!” Andrea said at both parents. Neither parent reacted to Andrea. They looked indifferent to the fact they were drunk when they were supposed to be parents. “Needless to say, we have nothing to discuss here,” Andrea said looking at them.   
“What? Aren’t you are supposed to tell us about the initiative? We need to see if it is good for the girl,” The mother said.   
Andrea glared at the foster mom. “Her name is Greer. You were hired by S.H.I.E.L.D. to take care of her. I see you failed in that, and S.H.I.E.L.D. failed to make sure that happened. I will talk to her, you have no say right now but know the incentive from S.H.I.E.L.D. will stop if she decides to go. And if she says yes, and you try and stop her, I will hurt you.” The foster parents just nodded at Andrea. “Good,” Andrea said as she walked over to the stairs where Mark was sitting. “Where is Greer?” Andrea asked.   
“Upstairs getting her stuff. I told her based on this it’s up for her to decide if she wants to go. She does, so I told her to get her stuff,” Mark said.   
“But the building doesn’t open for another few weeks,” Andrea said.   
“She can stay in the mansion until the dorms open. She isn’t staying here,” Mark said.   
Andrea looked over at the foster parents still sitting there in their drunk stupor, “Agreed.”  
Greer came down with a trash bag, “Ready,” She said.   
Mark looked at the trash bag and stood up, “ Hold on,” Mark said as he went out to the car.   
Andrea looked at Greer. Greer stood there nervously and looked down. “Thanks,” Greer said.   
“For what?” Andrea asked.   
“For telling them how it is,” Greer said looking at her foster parents.   
“Don’t mention it. So you sure you want to join? You didn’t get the big speech we prepared or anything,” Andrea asked.   
“Do I look like I want to stay here?” Greer asked.   
“Fair point,” Andrea said.   
Mark walked in and carried a suitcase. “Here,” Mark said handing it to Greer.   
Greer held the suitcase and looked up at Mark, “What’s this for?” she asked.   
“You are not coming to the mansion with trash bags. Go pack your stuff in this suitcase. Check your room, make sure you got everything you want. If you need more bags we will stop by and get more for you to pack up,” Mark explained. Greer looked down at the suitcase again and nodded. She went back upstairs.   
“Wasn’t that your suitcase?” Andrea asked.   
“It was, we can stop by and get a duffle bag for me or something on our way to the airport,” Mark said.   
Andrea crossed her arms and smiled.   
“Shut it,” Mark said.   
“I love it when you are snuggly, and you try to act like you’re not. And here you complained of gremlins being at the mansion,” Andrea said.   
“Yeah well…” Mark said as he looked up the stairs. “We both know what it’s like to have a rough life.”  
“True,” Andrea said as she leaned against the wall. After a few minutes, Greer walked down carrying the suitcase.   
“Looks like you were able to fit more in there,” Mark said.   
“I was, thanks for letting me use it,” Greer said.   
“It’s yours now, don’t mention it,” Mark said as he held the door open for Greer and Andrea.   
“I don’t know how we are going to explain this to Tony. He wanted all the recruits to come at once,” Andrea said.   
“Really? You don’t know how we are going to explain this to Tony? He will be the first one to get the whole division who oversees this area fired after he finds out,” Mark said as he helped Greer with the suitcase.   
“I thought he would physically harm someone, but you’re right. He would just get the whole division fired,” Andrea said as she sat in the car. Andrea moved her seat for Greer. Mark sat down in the car and turned it on.   
“So how many other kids are going to be there?” Greer asked.   
“With you, we have seven right now. It's going to be a big house,” Andrea said.   
“And am I really going to train with the Avengers? Even the new members? I am going to meet Black Widow and Lucinda?” Greer asked.   
Mark laughed as Greer asked the question.   
Greer sunk back in her seat, “So I am not going to meet them huh?”   
“You met one right now. I’m Lucinda,” Andrea said smiling back at her.   
“Really? You had long black hair last time I saw you on the TV,” Greer said.   
“Cut it and dyed it, missy. We all are human and need change. What hate the short hair?” Andrea said as she ran her hand through her shorter hair cut which went to her shoulders.   
“It’s alright I suppose,” Greer said trying to seem indifferent but smiled. “Wait, so are you an Avenger too?” Greer asked.   
“Sure am. I am going to be the one in charge of combat training. The name is Mark, codename Creed,” Mark said putting the car into reverse and pulling out of the driveway.   
“Did you have to be so professional and let me sound like a tool?” Andrea asked.   
“Sure did,” Mark said smiling.   
“So I am going to meet everyone. Wait…Creed? Weren’t you the one who went rogue and the Avengers attacked on the rooftop of S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Greer asked.   
“I feel like she is fans of our work,” Andrea said.   
Mark laughed. “Yeah, I’m the one. Long story, short version involves memory wiping, Hydra trying to use me against Captain America, Lucinda and me killing Madame Hydra before she attacked the city, and Tony Stark inventing a machine to get my memories back.”  
“Oh,” Greer said in surprise. “This type of stuff happen a lot?”   
“Only to Mark,” Andrea said smiling.   
Mark glared at Andrea.  
“You two are weird.Are you all like this?” Greer asked  
Andrea smiled and crossed her arms again looking at Mark. “For the most part. We are more like this than the others. You will get used to it,” Andrea said.   
“I think I am going to like it there,” Greer said looking out the window.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
Tony  
“I don’t know how they expected us to have all this ready in just a few weeks,” Tony said as he walked out of a S.H.I.E.L.D. board meeting with Steve.   
“Tony, you got a lot done in a short amount of time. We have recruits, and we have some people lined up to head the teams in the different regions,” Steve said following Tony.   
“Yeah but it’s never enough for those idiots. They make it sound like we should have torn the kids from their families. The families had a right to refuse. I mean who would want to have their kid to be part of a superhero task force which would place their child in danger on the daily,” Tony said as he hit the button on the elevator.   
“It doesn’t matter. We have enough kids joining. We will make the teams, and we have adults on the teams too to lead the groups. It will work out,” Steve said in a calm voice.   
“How are you so calm over this? Shouldn’t you be stressing about planning a wedding?” Tony asked.   
Steve’s smile faded as Tony asked. “We haven’t had time to plan so far. It won’t be a big deal anyway. Many of the people who will be invited to the wedding will be at the Avenger Mansion soon. I can ask them to be part of it,” Steve said.   
“And what are you going to do about the people who don’t know,” Tony asked.   
Steve looked away when Tony asked the question. Tony crossed his arms and looked right at Steve, “You can’t do this to Mark, not now.”  
“I know I can’t,” Steve said. “Just not everyone from my past knows and some people in the present as well. It’s a little complicated.”  
Tony rolled his eyes as the elevator opened. “I am surprised they didn’t know about you and Bucky. I can’t believe the Avengers kept it under wraps for so long. I guess we assumed everyone knew so we never really talked about it. But how could you not tell people in S.H.I.E.L.D. or others you know that you plan to marry a man?” Tony asked.   
“Like I said, it’s complicated,” Steve said as he walked into the elevator.   
“Yeah, sure. This is just going to be one big headache for Andrea and me. I can’t keep managing your messes moving forward. You are planning to have a husband, he is meant to do that,” Tony said.   
“Tony,” Steve said in a stern voice.   
Tony sighed, “Listen we have a big project happening here. We are going to be busy, all of us. I somehow have to convince Mark to abide by their new guidelines now. I can’t have you telling him some people don’t know about you and him and him reacting to it.”  
“How do you know he will react to it? He might understand,” Steve asked.   
Tony just stared at Steve blankly for a moment at Steve. “I don’t think I should even justify that question with an answer,” Tony said.   
“It might be best if you don’t,” Steve agreed.   
“No actually I will,” Tony began. “Are you insane? He will understand? You have held his hand out in public, he proposed to you in a baseball field, and now you want him to be hush-hush about the whole thing in front of leaders and agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. because you don’t have the balls to do it in front of them? What part of that is okay? In fact, you might want to watch out for Andrea as well. She would punch you in the face if she knew this was what you planned.”  
“Andrea would never do that,” Steve said looking at Tony.   
“No, she would. One of the reasons I love that woman. She will not hesitate, trust me,” Tony said as the elevator opened. Tony stepped out first.   
“I don’t see why you are making it such a big deal,” Steve said.   
“I don’t know why you’re not,” Tony replied. “Who doesn’t know?”   
Steve sighed before speaking, “Sharon Carter, Gabriel Jones, and Thaddeus Dugan… most board members on S.H.I.E.L.D…..some agents….”  
Tony stopped in his tracks, “Two of the highest leaders of S.H.I.E.L.D.? You didn’t tell two of the highest board members? And most of them? How many Agents? Well does Sam know at least? I know he is coming to the mansion.”  
“Sam knows, he was one of the first people I told in this time. He has always been a good friend, and he is excited to meet Mark. I didn’t tell Sharon because of the past I share with her aunt. And I never told the leaders cause it never came up,” Steve explained.   
“Are you sure they don’t know?” Tony asked as he continued to walk. “I mean Fury knows, he would put them in their place by telling them. For some strange reason, he is good friends with Mark. Fury wouldn’t let them say anything negative about you or Mark.”  
“How are you so sure Fury would defend?” Steve asked.   
“Have you not been there when Fury reacts to Mark being in life threatening situations? He would defend,” Tony answered.   
“I don’t know Tony. It is mainly the board members I am worried about. They don’t really know,” Steve said.   
“Which blows my mind,” Tony said with exaggerative expression. “Maria Hill would have spilled the details when she was rejected by you. What the hell happened to women gossiping about their exes? I know mine do.”  
“Well they had reason to gossip, Maria doesn’t,” Steve answered.   
“So what’s your stupid plan?” Tony asked.   
“Just to ask Mark to tone things down when they are there is all. I mean they will only be there for a little while,” Steve said.   
“And the wedding?” Tony asked.   
“What about the wedding?” Steve asked back.   
“How are you going to plan it, or for that matter, have one without people finding out. I don’t know how things went down in your time period, but tabloid magazines find a way to figure out what is going on in the world. I mean you were on the cover of a newspaper with Mark when we went to the Gala. What about that?” Tony asked.   
“They just thought I was being nice to Mark by going with him,” Steve said.   
“You know, stop. Just stop talking. This is insane. The more I hear, the worse it sounds. If Mark finds out I knew about this plan, he is going to hurt me,” Tony said.   
“You sure you’re not afraid of Andrea more?” Steve asked.   
“I don’t want to think what she would do if she even thought I supported any part of your stupid plan. You’re going to end up losing Mark if you do this,” Tony said. There was a long period of silence when Tony realized the weight of his words. He looked over to see Steve lost in thought.  
“We have been through worse,” Steve said.   
“Yes, mainly villains attacking us and doing messed up things to team members. Not you asking him to keep your lives a secret, especially the biggest event in your guys’ lives,” Tony found himself screaming when they were outside.   
“Tony, you’re yelling,” Steve said.   
Tony threw his hands up in defeat and got into the car. “I cannot with you. This is insane. I am yelling mainly because the more I say it out loud, the more it is a horrible idea. It doesn’t even sound like a good idea when I think it,” Tony said.   
Steve sat in the car. “Well maybe we should stop talking about it,” Steve said.   
“Home, Happy. And make it a quick drive,” Tony said to Happy.   
“Of course Mr. Stark,” Happy replied.   
The car ride back to the mansion was in silence. Tony’s mind was not silent, though. He could not believe Steve right now. And he had to drop the bomb on him today. His plan, his secret, wanting to keep it a secret. He couldn’t keep it from Andrea. Tony didn’t think it would be safe for him to keep it from her. Andrea might be able to talk some sense into Steve before everyone showed up to the mansion in a few weeks.   
Tony and Steve arrived at the mansion and went inside. Tony went straight to the lab downstairs. He needed to work out a few details now that the date for the initiative to begin approached.   
“Hello there,” Tony heard as he was greeted with a hug. Tony looked to see Andrea hugging him. It snapped Tony back into reality from his thoughts. Tony hugged Andrea and kissed her on the lips. “Well, isn’t this a fine greeting,” Tony said.   
“How did the board meeting go?” Tony heard. Tony looked up to see Mark sitting there at the table near Andrea’s work computer.   
“A headache, they seem to be upset we didn’t get more recruits,” Tony said as he and Andrea walked over to Mark.   
“Well, if you sent Andrea and me to all of them, we would have more,” Mark boasted.   
“We did get a yes from every family you guys sent us to meet. I think five in total. You got two yeses. And we still have a few more to interview,” Andrea said adding up the numbers. “It still is a lot, though. Plus, we have the older members coming to train. What more do they want?”   
Mark looked from Andrea to Tony after she asked her question.   
Tony felt the pressure of telling them the new guidelines they needed to follow now for this initiative. “It’s complicated. They wanted to make sure we had enough is all,” Tony said.   
“Enough for what? Are we making an army now? The United Kindom is setting up a task force, and we are looking to train their recruits too. What more does the board want?” Mark asked.   
“You’re not going to like this,” Tony prefaced as he looked at Mark and Andrea.   
Mark and Andrea looked to one another and made a face then turned that face to Tony. “What aren’t we going to like?” Andrea asked.   
“Well it’s more Mark will not like it than you,” Tony clarified.   
“What…?” Mark asked and waited.   
“They want us to restructure our training program,” Tony explained.   
“Restructure it? How? We have it set that each of us will focus on a specific task for the team. It will be like one giant training class. What more can we do to make it better?” Mark asked confused.   
“They want to make it more like an academy. We each take a class to teach them all. They also want us to take on students as mentors as well,” Tony said as he prepared himself for Mark to retaliate.   
Mark looked down and thought of it for a moment, “So they want us to make this like high school for them? Why not send them to the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters then?” Mark asked.   
“Because those kids are actually getting a high school education as well as being trained in the academy. We are just training the team. I am surprised you are not angrier they are forcing you to take on more students,” Tony said.   
“I am as well actually. You swore to the heavens I would be the last student you would ever take on. What happened? Am I not good enough?” Andrea asked pouting.   
“No, I did swear to the heavens about that. I guess the heavens will be pissed at me for being okay with it. After seeing Greer and her situation,” Mark said trailing off for a second, “I think these kids might need that. It could be fun. Besides if they are sorting into sections for mentors, they are all going to want to be in Andrea’s and my section,” Mark said with a smile.   
“This is true, they will,” Andrea agreed. “We need to make it fair for the kids, though. I know one will be working with Tony, though. The spider one, Peter something,” Andrea said.   
“Parker,” Tony clarified. “He will be working with me at Stark Industries, but I am going to need someone to train him. We have a few kids good in the lab, they can build their skills there as well,” Tony explained.   
“Well he is your mentee, Tony,” Mark said. “How did Steve take this? He must have been excited to hear about it.”  
“He was more concerned about your reaction,” Tony explained.   
“Well, it sounded worse when you prepared us for it. I am fine with the plan, but against the high school idea. We can have some fun with it, though,” Mark said smiling as he got up.   
“Where are you going?” Andrea asked.   
“Going to check out the new training room Tony built then get started on dinner. You guys have been yelling at me ever since I got back from vacation to cook more,” Mark said as he walked to the stairs. Tony saw Steve walking down as Mark was walking up.   
“Hey,” Mark said as he leaned forward to kiss Steve. Steve leaned forward as well.   
“Heading up?” Steve asked.   
“Like I can’t hear your stomach growling from here. I have to get dinner ready for everyone. Seems like I need practice feeding a bigger house now,” Mark said as he walked up. Steve watched as Mark left and he walked down the stairs with a smile.   
Tony just stared at Steve and crossed his arms.   
“What?” Steve asked.   
“I just sense so much doom with what is coming for you,” Tony said.   
“What doom?” Andrea asked.   
Steve was about to speak when Tony cut him off. “Nope! I said I will have no part in this and I won’t. You want to tell Andrea then it is your own funeral, but I am going to head upstairs and change,” Tony said as he began to walk to the stairs. “No talking until I leave,” Tony said. Tony walked up the stairs, and once he reached the door he heard Andrea asked, “Okay, what’s up?”   
Tony reached the second floor when he heard Andrea scream, “What the actual fuck, Steve Rogers!” Tony shook his head. “poor soul didn’t even see it coming,” Tony said to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
Steve  
It had been about two weeks, and all the work began coming to an end to begin the Young Avengers Initiative. Steve spent most of his time getting yelled at by Andrea after he told her he was not fully out to everyone and he needed to keep it a secret from some of the people coming to the mansion. Andrea agreed Steve should be the one to tell Mark about it. Steve hoped it would be easy to play off at the open house tonight.   
Steve was ready and waiting downstairs for the guests to arrive at the mansion. Tony spared no expense in preparing the mansion for the board members of S.H.I.E.L.D., the political leaders, the families attending the party. Steve just felt his nerves going up and hoped the evening would go off without any issues. Steve found himself pacing in the foyer, and when he didn’t do that, he was tapping his foot just waiting.   
“You seem nervous,” Steve heard behind him. A young girl came down the stairs in a black cocktail dress and stood on the stairs waiting.   
“Hello, Greer. You look nice. Where did you get that dress?” Steve asked.   
“Andrea lent it to me. It fits nicely. I don’t have dresses, so she helped me pick one out of her closet. She wanted to go with something more loud and fun, but I liked the simple, black dress. She did push me to wear pink shoes, though. She said I was sixteen and need to enjoy some fun,” Greer said smiling.   
“Well, she would know about fun. It looks good on you,” Steve said smiling.   
“Thanks. I never wore a dress before or had an event like this in my life. I’m nervous about it,” Greer said fidgeting with her dress.   
“You are the one who has the least to worry about. You are already here and part of the team. There’s nothing to change that decision. I don’t think Andrea and Mark would allow anyone to send you back,” Steve said.   
“Yeah…” Greer said. Steve could tell she was in deep thought about the whole situation. “They are different you know? I get everyone is an Avenger here, but those two, I never met someone like them.”  
“I know what you mean,” Steve said stepping forward. “The day those two came, our lives here changed forever.”  
“That’s kind of how I felt when they arrived at the house. I don’t know… I felt like they were there to just protect me. They never are afraid to be themselves in front of others and are always welcoming. I’m glad they are here tonight. The party wouldn’t be the same without them,” Greer said.   
“It wouldn’t be a party without them. Especially if it is a boring party, they will find a way to liven it up. They always do,” Steve said smiling remembering the first time Andrea and Mark took over a party.   
“Are you going to be okay?” Greer asked.   
Steve turned his head, surprised by the question. “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”  
Greer pointed at Steve’s engagement ring, “You are going to have to explain that to the guests.”  
Steve looked down at the ring and felt his heart drop. He would. He forgot about the ring and what it means to wear it. He couldn’t take it off. Everyone who didn’t know about him and Mark would ask.   
“You shouldn’t hide it,” Greer said.   
“What do you mean?” Steve asked.   
“I hear everyone talking about things, I have enhanced hearing. I know what’s going on. You shouldn’t hide it from people. I see how you two are together if anything they should be jealous of it.”  
“It’s…more complicated than that,” Steve explained.   
“It really isn’t. You are wearing that because you want to be with him. You want to be with him right?” Greer asked.   
“I do, it’s just…”  
“Tony is right. If you hide it, it will make things a lot worse. I see how he acts toward you, he cares about you a lot. This is coming from someone who has known him for just two weeks,” Greer said cutting Steve off.   
Steve sighed, “I know what I am doing.”  
“Alright, but the threat is Andrea will punch you in the face. I think that alone would be enough to scare anyone to do the right thing,” Greer said.   
“Who is Andrea punching in the face now?” Steve heard from the stairs. He looked up to see Mark walking down dressed in his suit. All except his shoes, Mark always had to wear Converse shoes. Steve smiled as he saw Mark walking down.   
“I think that list is too long for me to cover in one night,” Greer said.   
“You are learning,” Mark said holding up his finger to show a point. “The list of people she has actually punched in the face is about twenty times longer than the threat list, remember that,” Mark smiled after he finished. Greer laughed.   
“I can see her doing it, too,” Greer said. “Has she ever punched you?”  
“She prefers to smack me in the back of the head,” Mark said rubbing the back of his head. “I am not sure if the bruises have fully healed.”  
“Where is Andrea?” Steve asked.   
Mark sighed, “Struggling with her hair but will be down in a bit,” Mark turned to Greer. “Tony went outback already, can you see if he needs any help with last minute preparations?”   
“Sure,” Greer said as she walked to the back door. Greer turned and looked at Steve before she walked out the door.   
“Nervous?” Mark asked Steve.   
“A little, I haven’t met the parents or the kids joining. You guys have,” Steve said.   
“You will be fine,” Mark said as he fixed Steve’s jacket and then his sleeves. “You being Captain America is enough to win over any of them,” Mark smiled as he looked up at Steve.   
“You enjoy saying that to me,” Steve said raising an eyebrow.   
“Of course, it gets on your nerves a little,” Mark said sticking out his tongue. Steve laughed as he instinctually grabbed Mark’s hand.   
“Are you nervous?” Steve asked.   
“Nervous this party will be boring and about meeting the people you know. I know Sam has wanted to meet me. And Tony has Rhodey coming. And then there are all those people you are close to in S.H.I.E.L.D. so yeah I am going to stop talking before my anxiety explodes,” Mark said smiling.   
Steve laughed again. “Don’t be, Sam will like you.”  
“Yeah well, what about the others from S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Mark asked.   
Steve didn’t know how to answer. He still needed to figure out how he was going to handle them not knowing about him. Mark let go of Steve’s hand as he looked out the window. “The guests are starting to arrive, I am going to help Greer and Tony. Lead any guests to the back and join when your friends get here,” Mark said smiling as he leaned forward to kiss Steve and left.   
Steve stood there for a while and realized how true Greer’s words were. He was going to mess this up if he didn’t handle it right. He needed to know how to manage it.   
Steve greeted the guests. More people came than planned, and it was already a large event. Tony planned for this to not only be the starting point of the Young Avengers Initiative but also as a PR event. It started as just a way for the parents and future members to see the mansion before coming to live there, now they had press and politicians coming to the party.   
Steve greeted the guests and sent each person to the backyard. Tables were out there and a big stage to present everything to the people. It was going to be a formal event which translated into a long, boring event. Steve met some of the families, and Mark was right. Steve being Captain America instantly had everyone talking to him. Greer was right as well, the families asked about Steve’s ring and who the lucky woman was. Steve never answer he just acted like it was a private matter. Steve felt more nervous about the whole thing now.   
Steve felt a slap on his shoulder, “Well it’s nice to see that you clean up well,” Steve heard. Steve turned to see a smiling, friendly face. Sam stood there in his suit. “How have you been?” Sam asked.   
“It’s good to see you,” Steve said hugging Sam. “Things have been great, and now taking on training the leaders for the Young Avengers,” Steve answered.   
Sam pointed out Steve’s ring, “so where is the lucky man?”   
“Outside, I can take you to meet him,” Steve said leading the way.   
“So is it true? You couldn’t settle for a regular person you had to bag the world’s deadliest assassin?” Sam asked.   
“How do you know about that?” Steve asked as he walked outside.   
“I have been on a few missions undercover in the underground crime syndicates. His name comes up in fear. I put two and two together. I can’t believe it, Steve Rogers needed to go for the gold huh? Not even gold, maybe diamond.” Sam said in jest.   
Steve laughed, “I didn’t plan on it. He found me, to be honest.”  
“Yeah, you told me. And someone settled down with Tony? Well, I guess if she was trained under the world’s deadliest assassin that girl must have a lot of skills to put him in line,” Sam said.   
“You have no idea,” Steve said looking around.   
“Sam!” Steve heard as Clint and Natasha walked over to greet Sam.   
“Well look at these old faces,” Sam said greeting Natasha and Clint.   
“Have you guys seen Mark?” Steve asked.   
“He was over with Andrea talking to the families,” Natasha answered.   
“So I can finally meet him,” Sam said. “Should I be prepared for anything?”  
“No need to worry, you will be in for a surprise when you see how Steve acts around him, though,” Clint said.   
“Meaning what?” Sam asked with concern. “Nothing like when he was with Bucky I hope.”  
“No,” Natasha clarified. “You will see. Come on,” Natasha said leading the way. Clint walked beside her.   
“What did Natasha mean by that?” Sam asked.   
“I guess you’ll find out,” Steve said to Sam.   
“Now, I am nervous to meet him,” Sam said following. Steve walked with Sam and noticed the party was larger than most venues the Avengers held. So many people wanted to come to see how the Avengers were heading this initiative. The number of guests also stressed Tony out who was hoping for a smaller crowd for this one. Least that’s what Tony said. In truth, Steve figured Tony still loved all the chaos from the public and the image he got to put on.   
Steve felt someone grab his arm, “Steve Rogers,” Steve heard. Steve looked over, “Sharon!” Steve said as he saw Sharon Carter, aka Agent 13, standing there.   
Steve looked over to Sam, “Go on ahead I will catch up,” Steve said turning back to Sharon. “Good to see you,” Steve said.   
“It’s been a while. I see you have been doing well saving the world and such with your new team, and now this,” Sharon said point around making a point to the initiative.   
“Yeah, it's going to be a big task. I am hoping we do a good job for the kids,” Steve said.   
“You will be great. They have a good leader to look up to,” Sharon said smiling. “Did you see Thaddeus and Gabriel?”  
“No? Are they here?” Steve asked with some worry in his voice.   
“Yeah just over there, come on, let’s say hello,” Sharon said grabbing Steve’s arm. Steve looked over to Sam, Natasha, and Clint, who found Mark and Andrea. They were talking, and Steve figured he had some time.   
“Alright,” Steve said as Sharon led the way.   
“Well if it isn’t the Captain,” Thaddeus said as Steve walked over. “And Miss Carter.”  
“Sir,” Steve said saluting Thadeus and Gabriel.   
“At ease, Steve. We are at your event,” Gabriel said. “So you two are friendly. I see the Carter charmed worked on Steve once again.”  
“It’s an honor to compare me to my aunt, but no, just friends,” Sharon said.   
“She was an amazing woman, I see much of her spirit in you,” Thaddeus said. “What about you, Steve?”  
“I see many of the same qualities as well. You would have made Peggy proud,” Steve said smiling. Sharon smiled back and looked away in a coy way. Steve felt another hand on his side.   
“Hey,” Mark said walking over. “You sent Sam over without you? How could you not allow me to embarrass you in front of your good friend in the first meeting?” Mark said as Sam walked up next to him.   
“I now know what Natasha meant by the way?” Sam said looking at Steve. “Hello Sir,” Sam said looking at Thaddeus and Gabriel saluting them.   
“At ease,” Gabriel said. Sam looked over at Sharon.   
“Hello, Sharon, good to see you back from another mission,” Sam said smiling.   
“It’s nice to be back and able to relax in good company,” Sharon said squeezing Steve’s arm. Steve saw Mark raise an eyebrow.   
“Wait…” Mark said looking at Sam. “What did Natasha say about me?”  
“All rumors I am sure,” Steve heard from behind him. Barbra Johnston stood behind him. “Good to see you.”  
“Barbra,” Mark said hugging her. “How have you been my old biddy?”  
“I am not your hooker anymore? Or has my age put me in retirement?” Barbra asked Mark. Steve noticed both Thaddeus and Gabriel almost spit their drinks when Barbra said that.   
“Don’t mind the old military people. They are too uptight about things, never any fun at any function. I think it has to do with the sticks in their asses,” Barbra said.   
Mark laughed, “Is that true? You all have sticks up your asses?”  
Thaddeus and Gabriel both looked annoyed by Mark. “You should respect your elders, young man,” Thaddeus said. And Barbra was the one who laughed this time.   
“You realize we are spring chickens compared to him?” Barbra said.   
“Excuse me?” Gabriel said.   
Mark turned to them, “You’re right, respect your elders. I turn a hundred and forty-one this year… I think. It's hard to keep track. So maybe learn something from someone who has been on this earth longer than you,” Mark said.   
“Spoken like a true, old asshole,” Barbra said reaching for Mark’s hand. “Well, let me see it.”  
Mark let Barbra take a look at his hand. “So it finally happened.” Steve saw Sharon lean over and look at Mark’s hand.   
“Congratulations,” Sharon said.   
“Thanks…um stranger,” Mark said.   
Steve laughed, “Mark this is Sharon Carter.”  
“Related to Peggy Carter?” Mark asked.   
“Yes, she was my aunt. You knew her?” Sharon asked.   
“I went on a few mission with her post-World War II, she asked to train under me, but sadly I had to decline,” Mark said.   
“You declined to be trained by Peggy Carter?” Gabriel asked.   
“You misheard me, I declined to train her. She wanted to gain the skills of being a spy and assassin. I couldn’t at the time though. After the war much more was going on to maintain stability and other aspects of my life were being built,” Mark said. Steve watched as Mark fidgeted with his ring. Steve knew Mark did this when he was in deep thought about something and wondered what it could have had something to do with David.  
“I never heard of someone declining Peggy Carter of anything,” Thaddeus said.   
“Well, now you have,” Mark said matter of factly.   
“So who is the lucky lady?” Sharon asked.   
“Barbra of course, she likes older men,” Mark said putting his arm around Barbra.   
“Yes I must say, this one is a keeper. It was all those dresses Andrea had me wear which finally won him over,” Barbra said.   
“That and your dance moves which put me to shame,” Mark said joking. Steve could see Sam laughing, but everyone else felt uncomfortable with the conversation.   
“In all seriousness who is the woman?” Thaddeus asked.   
“In all seriousness, there is no woman. It’s a man,” Mark said.   
The air went tense when Mark said those words. Mark looked around at everyone. “Well now I feel socially awkward,” Mark said.   
“I don’t know why, ” Barbra said. “Like I said, this one is a keeper. One and done. Unlike me who is on my fourth,” Barbra said smiling.   
“When did the third end?” Mark asked.   
“When I met the fourth,” Barbra said. Mark laughed. Barba just smiled and nodded.   
“Well congratulations all the same,” Thaddeus said uncomfortably. “And what is your role here?”   
“My role here is an Avenger, young wiper snapper. I will be heading the training for the Young Avengers Initiative,” Mark said.   
“I see,” Gabriel said looking over to Thaddeus.   
“And Fury knows of…” Thaddeus began to ask.  
“Fury and I are old friends. So he knows my life, well least the last couple of decades. Hard to keep up with over a century of memories. He is the one who asked me to join after all,” Mark said.   
“Well, I am sure you will offer a lot of experience to the kids joining,” Sharon said. Sharon looked down at Steve’s hand, “Looks like we have another congratulation is in order. Seems someone got to Steve,” Sharon said as Steve hid his hand behind his back.   
“Oh? Is it true Steve?” Thaddeus said.   
“Oh it’s true, show them, Steve,” Barbra said smiling. Steve sighed as he showed his hand and the ring.   
“So I know it is not Miss Carter, who got to you?” Gabriel said. “Who is she?”  
This time both Barbra and Sam laughed at the question.   
“The old school of thinking is so archaic and humorous. If I ever sound like them, please do me the honor and kill me,” Barbra said to Mark.   
“It is tough to kill a strong old biddy like you, but if it must be done,” Mark said stepping closer to Steve. Steve felt his heart drop as Mark got closer.   
“If I sound like them, I won’t be. I will be a fool. Just end it,” Barbra said as her rebuttal. “If you won’t, I know Andrea will.”  
“True,” Mark said as he reached for Steve’s hand and Steve quickly moved his hand away to act like he had a scratch. Mark didn’t fall for it though, and neither did Barbra and Sam.   
“So who is she, Steve? I can’t really follow their code,” Sharon said.   
“She couldn’t make it,” Steve lied. Steve felt daggers go at him as he said those words. Daggers from Mark, Barbra, and, he was sure, Andrea, Natasha, Clint, and maybe Tony if he heard.   
“Shame, I would have liked to meet the lucky lady. Who is she?” Sharon asked.   
“I would rather keep it private. It is tough as is right now,” Steve said which wasn’t a lie and would hope Mark would pick up on it.   
“Hmm,” Barbra said, which Steve knew at least she understood the message. “Come on Mark, Let’s go find Andrea. You two are the only reason I came out to this dull event.”  
Barbra pulled at Mark a few times before he would move. Steve just could see the hurt in Mark’s eyes when he said those words. “Alright,” Mark said as Barbra pulled him away.   
“Not cool dude,” Sam whispered as he walked up next to Steve.   
“What? I want to keep things private,” Steve said.   
“Sad someone got to you before I did,” Sharon said smiling and slowly letting go of Steve’s arm.   
“It is a shame,” Thaddeus said. “But you should have acted sooner, Sharon. Steve is Captain America after all. Not something to be overlooked by many.”  
Steve began to feel uncomfortable in the conversation. Once again he was referenced as Captain America, and not addressed as Steve Rogers.   
“It is good though what Fury did,” Gabriel said.   
“Sir?” Sam asked.   
“The addition to the team. Adding that strange character. It is nice to see Fury is keeping up the image of the team to allow him on,” Gabriel explained.   
“Um sir, Do you know who he is?” Same asked.   
“Does it matter? I am sure he serves his purpose for Public Relations reasons,” Gabriel said.   
“Speaking of Fury, I see him. Let’s go talk about how his new team member addressed us,” Thaddeus said. Steve felt his fist clench as both Thaddeus and Gabriel spoke. He couldn’t believe the words coming from two men he respected.   
“I will go with you,” Sharon said. “We can speak later, Steve. I will be around. The Board Members want me to keep an eye on things at the beginning.” Sharon walked with Thaddeus and Gabriel.   
“Man, you messed up big time,” Sam said.   
Steve sighed, “I know, but can you blame me? You heard them.”  
“All I know is I met Mark for five minutes, and I know you messed up. I wanted to punch them in the face for talking about him like that,” Sam said.   
“Yeah,” Steve agreed.   
“You also would have smashed a glass with how tight your fist clenched. You acted like you were with Bucky just now,” Sam said.   
Steve turned to Sam curiously, “What do you mean?”  
“When you two were together, he never wanted you to tell. You never were you. You were always Captain America, never faltered from that image. I met Mark, he doesn’t care about what your code name or rank is. He called one of the most powerful politicians and lawyers in the country an old biddy and asked two of the highest Board Members of S.H.I.E.L.D. if they had sticks up their asses. Mark had all the families excited about the initiative, ensuring their safety and wanting them to feel part of something bigger. Barbra was right,” Sam said.   
“About what?” Steve asked.   
“He is one and done. He is not a fourth marriage kind of guy. You need to fix this,” Sam said looking back at everyone else. Steve looked over, and he could see Andrea glaring at him.   
“I might get punched in the face today,” Steve said.   
“In all fairness, you deserve it,” Sam said patting Steve on the shoulder.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
Andrea  
Andrea saw the look on Mark’s face as he walked over with Barbra Johnston.   
“Andrea!” Barbra said as she walked over and hugged Andrea. “You need to help me fix this one,” Barbra whispered in Andrea’s ear. Andrea looked at Mark. She had never seen that expression on him before. Mark just looked back at Steve and then turned back to the crowd. It was like the life was gone from him, no smile, no laughter, just a forlorn look on his face.   
“What happened?” Andrea asked Barbra.   
“Steve did something stupid. Very stupid,” Barbra explained. Andrea looked over at Steve, and she knew what he did. She couldn’t believe he went through with his plan of keeping the engagement a secret from the higher-ups at S.H.I.E.L.D. Steve looked over at Andrea, and she glared at him. Steve quickly looked away and was talking to Sam.   
“That idiot,” Andrea said looking back at Mark. She sighed, “I don’t know what we can do for him.”  
“Well, any bit helps,” Barbra said. Andrea nodded and walked over to Mark. “You okay?” Andrea asked. Mark looked at Andrea and shook his head. “No, I’m not. But I will be, least I hope I will,” Mark said looking down.   
“He is an asshole,” Andrea said looking at Mark.   
“So you know?” Mark asked.   
“Barbra asked for me to check-in on you,” Andrea said.   
“Yeah, he is one, but I also kind of get it,” Mark said looking at Steve.   
“You get the fact he will never admit he is engaged to you or with a man?” Andrea asked.  
“When you put it like that,” Mark began. “I see it even worse, now.”  
“Sorry,” Andrea said, “I didn’t mean to make it worse.”  
“It’s okay,” Mark said walking over to the crowd. “Come on, we should introduce Barbra to the kids, least the ones here.”  
Andrea followed Mark to the others.   
“So better?” Barbra asked. Mark shook his head. “Shame, I was hoping Andrea would be able to make you feel better,” Barbra said.   
“It’s not that simple,” Mark said.   
“Never is. And I warned Steve of this over a year ago,” Barbra said to Mark. Mark tilted his head and then looked at Andrea. Andrea shrugged her shoulders. Both then looked at Barbra, and she laughed. Barbra stepped forward and grabbed Mark’s arm. “The day you treated my wound at the Gala. I told Steve to treat you well, that you were different. I guess now he decides to not listen to me.”  
“I remember that,” Mark said.   
“I’m not surprised Steve didn’t listen. He is almost as stubborn as you are at times,” Andrea said.   
“He is,” Mark said looking down and smiling.   
“Come now, introduce me to the young ones. I want to know who will be joining,” Barbra said.   
“Alright,” Mark said looking at Andrea. Andrea lead the way to the crowd of people.   
“Hello Everyone, I would like you to meet Barbra Johnston. Just a little biddy we know who supports some of the members of the team,” Andrea said as they walked to the crowd. The crowd instantly recognized Barbra and felt in awe being in her presence.   
“Hello new team,” Barbra said. “I will be joining as the newest Avenger as well.”  
“Really?” Clint asked in disbelief.   
Barbra smiled, “Of course not you idiot. I am far too old to be running around like you all.” Andrea smiled, and she could see Natasha laughing at Barbra’s comments. Clint just crossed his arms and mumbled something under his breath.   
“Well, not all the members are here. We are waiting for a few, but we have Nadia Pym, daughter of scientist Hank Pym. Codename Wasp. Monica Rambeau, her code name is Captain Marvel. Jennifer Walters, the green gives it away, but she is She-Hulk. This quiet fellow is Spider-Man, he doesn’t want to give his real name yet. This lady is Greer Nelson, known to us as Tigra. You met one of the older members over there, Samual Wilson aka Falcon. I think that is everyone,” Andrea said looking around.   
“You missed me,” A man stepped behind Andrea. “My name is T'Challa,” the man said.   
“Um…I don’t think I know you,” Andrea said.   
“I do,” Mark said walking up to T'Challa and shaking his hand. “This is Blank Panther. I didn’t know you would be here. It’s been a while since I have seen you,” Mark said smiling.   
“It has been a while…I am quite surprised you don’t look any different than the day I last met you,” T'Challa said.   
“When was that?” Andrea asked.   
“When he was about ten years old. His father was Blank Panther then and the King of Wakanda. He hired me to help with a few issues back then,” Mark explained.   
“Yes, and I remember how well my father spoke of you. An honorable warrior and assassin. You inspired me to keep up my father’s legacy and fight on past his death. I remember pretending to be an assassin after hearing the stories. Childish I know, but it helped me grow into the man I am today,” T'Challa said.   
“I’m glad to hear I helped in some way. I’m sorry about your father’s passing. I’m sure he would be proud to see the man you are today,” Mark said smiling.   
“Thank you, old friend. I came here to show support for the initiative and to meet at the United Nations. I made a point to stop by when I heard you would be here. The famous assassin, still the same man I remembered those many years ago,” T'Challa said.   
“Yeah well, I better get used to aging. Losing my powers will do that to me,” Mark explained.   
“You are still able to fight as you did without them from what I understand,” T'Challa said.   
“Yeah but not having the healing ability is a pain. Plus, the cuffs are nice, but I miss manipulated metal into anything I wanted when I wanted. It’s been an adjustment,” Mark explained.   
“I see other things are adjusting,” T'Challa said pointing to Mark’s hand. Mark covered his ring with his other hand. “Am I wrong?” T'Challa asked.   
“No, just a tad complicated right now. I will explain later when I get more of a handle on it,” Mark said.  
“I understand. I hope to catch up an old friend. I know the Young Avengers are in for a tough time training with you,” T'Challa said.   
“Wait? We are? I thought we were only getting trained by our mentors?” Peter asked.   
“Things changed,” Mark said. “And we don’t know who the mentors are yet. You guys will find out the second day after the initiative begins. We want to give you time to settle.”  
“Tony is my mentor, I wouldn’t have joined otherwise,” Spider-Man said.   
“I have to side with Peter on this one,” Monica said. Peter Park looked at Monica with wide-eyes. She covered her mouth when she realized what she did. Monica sighed, “So they know, the probably always knew. His name is Peter Parker, everyone. And I agree with him. I was hoping to be mentored by Captain America. How will we decide who is mentored by whom?”   
“In time guys,” Mark said. “For now, enjoy the party, we will pair you with the best mentor for you. You might be right in what you said,” Mark said.   
Andrea smiled hearing what Mark was saying. “He’s right guys, we got a few surprises in stored for you anyway,” Andrea said.   
“Oh good, I hate to have come all this way to see nothing I have come to know from you two,” Barbra said pointing out Mark and Andrea. “Come T'Challa, escort an old lady to the other politicians. We need to say hello and deal with that political nonsense.”  
“My pleasure,” T'Challa said offering his arm for Barbra. “We will talk later.”  
Andrea watched as Barbra and T'Challa walked away and then she turned to see Mark. Natasha and Clint walked up behind him and whispered something to him. Andrea already knew what it was about. She walked over to Mark, “Ready for fun?” Andrea asked.   
Mark sighed, “I might sit it out.”   
“What?” Andrea said in shock. “You can’t sit it out. It was your idea. We went through a lot for this one. It’s not just me hacking the sound system. We have lights, fireworks, and music. What is wrong with you?”   
Mark looked at Andrea with the expression he had on earlier.   
“Oh…yeah…that,” Andrea said.   
Mark sighed again, “Just not feeling it right now is all,” Mark said. Andrea watched as Mark looked over at Steve.   
“I don’t think it would be a good idea to talk to him right now,” Andrea said.   
“I know,” Mark agreed. “I don’t even know what to say to him.”  
“It might be best to wait until your anger is gone,” Andrea suggested.   
“How long will that take?” Mark asked turning back to look at Andrea.   
“Depends on what more he does,” Andrea said.   
Mark nodded his head. At that moment, the center stage began to flash the lights. It was time for Tony to give his big speech. Andrea turned to the others, “Come on guys, time to hear Tony give his big speech about all of you,” Andrea said as she walked over to lead the crowd to the stage. Mark walked with Andrea, and then Andrea watched as Steve kept his distance from Mark. This wasn’t good. Steve was now making an effort to ensure no one would suspect they were together. Steve just stayed near Sam.   
The crowd gathered around the stage with all the other people at the event. Andrea looked around, and she saw Natasha and Clint walking up to her.   
“Where is Bucky?” Andrea asked.   
“Still setting up. Bucky said he will get here in a few minutes,” Clint said.   
“Good,” Andrea said whispering.   
“What about Mark?” Natasha asked.   
Andrea looked over at Mark who looked to be watching the stage, but his mind was somewhere else. “We should count him out of this one, he isn’t really feeling it,” Andrea said.   
“What would have him in such a sour mood?” Clint asked, but then Natasha elbowed Clint in the stomach.   
“Don’t be rude,” Natasha said. Andrea looked back to the stage and Tony was giving his speech. Tony could hold an audience, but Andrea wasn’t really paying attention. She quickly blinked her eyes and began hacking the systems they set up. She easily began to program the lights and music for the moment Bucky got back to them with the fireworks. She needed everything to be ready for the big moment.   
Andrea looked at the stage and could tell Tony was about half-way through his speech. “Bucky better hurry up,” Andrea said.   
“It’s ready, It’s ready,” Bucky said running over to them. “I just finished the last of it. Why did I need to get the hard task?”  
“Cause you pulled the shortest straw,” Clint said smiling.   
“Hush you two, let me work,” Andrea said. Andre then began to hack the firework set up to time it right with the music. Andrea felt a tap on her shoulder, it was Natasha.   
“He is nearing the end of the speech,” Natasha said.   
“Alright, I am almost done,” Andrea said. “Now we wait for the right time.” Andrea waited as Tony spoke. Tony ended with a grand statement and took a bow for the crowd, everyone clapped, and Andrea hit the power button on the plan. The lights went out, and techno music began to play. Andrea could see Tony stand up and look confused. Then the crowd saw the fireworks go up. They all oohed and awed at the lights. The music slowly got louder as the fireworks did and the lights then began to flash different colors to match the music. The fireworks ended with a big bang and the lights shown in the center of the stage to The Avengers standing there. Andrea waved as the other did and the music picked up. The crowd cheered, and the people began to sway to the music. Andrea walked over to Tony, who was smiling and shaking his head.   
“You guys had to plan something big for today, didn’t you?” Tony asked.   
“Of course, who did you marry? We always go big,” Andrea said as she grabbed Tony’s hand and pulled him back to the spotlight.   
“So where is your partner in crime?” Tony asked as he grabbed Andrea and spun her around. Andrea looked around but didn’t see Mark.   
“I don’t know. He was with us,” Andrea said.   
“I see Steve, but I don’t see Mark,” Tony said. Andrea turned her head to see Steve standing there talking to the leaders of S.H.I.E.L.D. he spoke with earlier. Andrea rolled her eyes.   
“You won’t find Mark with Steve,” Andrea said.   
“Why not?” Tony asked.   
“Guess,” Andrea answered. Tony stopped dancing for a moment and realized what Andrea meant. Tony looked at Steve and shook his head. “Why Steve? Why?” Tony said.   
“I asked myself the same thing,” Andrea said.   
Tony grabbed Andrea and began to dance again. “Will Mark be okay?” Tony asked.   
“He said he will be, he isn’t right now,” Andrea said.   
“I hope so, can Steve fix this?” Tony asked.   
Andrea leaned forward and rested her head on Tony’s shoulder. “I don’t know,” She said calmly to Tony. Tony hugged Andrea and let out a sigh.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
Mark  
Mark turned as he heard the fireworks go off. It seemed the plan worked as he heard the crowd. Mark smiled, happy to know the plan went off perfectly from what he could tell. Mark walked over to the side of the mansion and sat on the ground, leaning his back against the wall. He needed to be away from it all, he couldn’t stand seeing Steve avoid him the whole time. He also needed some time to just understand what happened. Mark looked down at his hand and took off his ring. He played with it for a little bit. He spun it around so he could read the inscription.   
“I will always be your little warrior,” Mark read out loud. He sighed and leaned his head against the wall again. He wanted to believe those words, but all it took were some people from S.H.I.E.L.D. for Steve to deny it all. Mark didn’t know what to do about this situation. He didn’t even know what to say to Steve about it. The hurt was enough to leave him speechless. Mark closed his eyes and all he began to remember the day he asked Steve to wear the ring Mark gave him. It was the best day he could remember. He wanted to make more memories like that with Steve, now he wasn’t sure what would happen.  
“Trying to sneak off?” Mark heard as he opened his eyes. He looked over to see Sam standing there. “Not a great impression of my friend’s fiancé,” Sam said.   
“You heard Steve, he is marrying a woman. I am just a delusional man wearing this with no significance what so ever,” Mark said.   
“I can see that. You did seem a little off, and from what I heard you did lose your memories, so maybe you don’t remember what the ring means,” Sam said as he walked over.   
“I wish I could lose my memories right now. Least the last few hours. Things would be so much better,” Mark said.   
“Do you really?” Sam asked.   
“Nah, losing memories sucks. I don’t want to go through that again,” Mark said looking down at the grass.   
“He was dumb,” Sam asked.   
“Dumb?” Mark asked.   
“Okay, so he was a major asshole and acted out of fear and didn’t back you up at all during that whole conversation making you dumb for those of us who know you two are engaged. More accurate?” Sam asked.   
“Close, you forgot to add the part he allowed the other people to make fun of my sexuality,” Mark said looking at Sam.   
“You heard that?” Sam asked.   
“No, was just a guess. You confirmed it,” Mark said sighing. “People like them see me as weak because I like men. It will be interesting if they ever see me fight. Plus, I snapped back at them, so it was natural for them to say things against me, and my sexuality is an easy target. They don’t have anything else.”  
“You don’t seem angry over the fact they did that,” Sam said.   
“Used to people like that,” Mark said smiling. “It’s dumb and what am I going to do? Beat them into the ground until they become open-minded?”   
“Steve almost did,” Sam said.   
“Steve can get emotional, especially when it comes to me,” Mark said.   
“And you? Can you be when it comes to him?” Sam asked.   
“I have been known to do a few dumb things because of my emotions toward Steve. I could list them, but you probably heard the stories of my recklessness,” Mark said.   
“A few stories. He didn’t go into massive details about the ones where you almost died,” Sam said.   
“He wouldn’t. He still has nightmares of those events,” Mark said.   
“The more you tell me, the more I don’t really get his actions,” Sam said.   
Mark crossed his arms on his knees and pulled them close to his chest. Mark rested his head on his arm and looked at Sam. “What do you mean?” Mark asked.   
“Just talking to you, I can see why Steve can be himself around you. I mean you are completely hurt and able to let me speak how I would with a close friend. I don’t get why he wasn’t that way with Bucky. Bucky was horrible to him…”  
“Bucky was under the control of Hydra. I think we should give him a break. He already is trying to make up for it in every way he can. I am not sure if he will ever be able to fully get rid of his guilt,” Mark said.   
“Don’t speak for me,” Mark heard. Mark saw Sam look up, and Mark turned his head to see Bucky standing there.   
“I was speaking what I thought, you can tell me if I am wrong,” Mark said.   
“You’re not,” Bucky said sitting down next to Mark. “But tell me, wise one, will Steve be able to forgive himself? Will you be able to forgive him?”   
“Don’t know,” Mark said.   
“That’s not very helpful,” Sam said.   
“It’s honest. I keep looking back at it. What Steve did was bad, no doubt about that, but is it sad to say I understand it better the more I think about it?”  
“You get his fear? That is good, but even I didn’t expect him to do that. I mean, I thought you would be the one to help him,” Bucky said.   
Mark turned his head curiously at Bucky, “Help him?”  
Bucky sighed. “What Sam said is true. When Steve was with me, I was horrible to him. It doesn’t matter if I was brainwashed or not, the damage was done and it was massive. Even now, I think he has a hard time trusting me. When he sees me talking to you or even when I talk to him, I see it in his eyes. But when he is with you, I see my friend. No fear, no worries, just Steve Rogers. I thought he would be able to finally let the world see him, or at least the S.H.I.E.L.D. members, but I was wrong.   
Mark let out a sigh. There was a long period of silence.  
“Well, anything we can do to make sure things are better?” Sam asked.   
Mark thought for a moment then turned to Bucky, “No but I think I needed to hear that.” Mark smiled.  
“No problem,” Bucky said. “I think you are the only one who really trusts me anymore. If you weren’t around, who knows what would have happened to me.”  
“I trust you,” Mark heard as he turned to see Steve standing near Sam. “It’s just been hard is all.”  
“I know,” Bucky said as he stood up. “Come on Sam, let’s see how the party is going.” Sam stood up and, Bucky and Sam walked away leaving Mark with Steve.   
Steve walked over and sat next to Mark. Both sat in silence for a while. Mark wasn’t sure what to say right now, and he wondered what Steve was thinking.   
“You should have told me,” Mark finally said breaking the silence. Steve looked up at Mark then turned to look at the ground.   
“I know. I was just scared. I am surprised you are even talking to me, I thought I lost you with how hurt you look. I never have seen you look like that,” Steve confessed.  
Mark put his hand on Steve’s arm. Steve looked up at Mark. “You have Bucky to thank for that. What he said had me realize more of why you did it.”  
Steve smiled as he grabbed Mark’s hand and held it. “I’m sorry I hurt you though. I don’t know why I let the fear take over. I just…” Steve trailed off getting lost in his thoughts. Mark just leaned against Steve to let him think. Steve continued.   
“You don’t know how bad they can be. All they care about is Captain America’s image. It's all politic for them. They don’t care about me or what I want. And Sharon was there, I just went back to how I used to act in front of all of them.”  
Mark just listened as Steve spoke. Bucky was more accurate with what he said than Mark realized. Steve was still hurt from the past and hid who he was to the Board Members of S.H.I.E.L.D.  
“Here I thought you might have been ashamed to say you were engaged to me,” Mark finally let out. Steve looked at Mark quickly, and Mark saw the shock in Steve’s eyes. Mark slowly looked down to hide the truth behind his statement.   
“Did you really think that?” Steve asked. Mark didn’t look up at Steve. He only nodded his head. “Mark…” Steve said as Mark felt Steve’s hand turn his head up to face Steve. “You are the best person I have ever met. I… I don’t know where I would have been if I never met you. I want this,” Steve gestured to Mark’s hand showing the engagement ring. “I just don’t know what to do about them,” Steve said looking back at the party. Mark knew Steve meant the board members of S.H.I.E.L.D. “I just couldn’t get over my fear, I’m sorry.”  
Mark grabbed Steve hand again. Steve looked over at Mark. “I love you, Mark. Don’t ever forget that,” Steve said.   
Mark smiled and nodded. “I love you too, Steve. But what are we going to do? I mean how do you want to handle this?” Mark asked.   
Steve sighed. “I don’t know. I figured we would just need to handle it today, but Sam told me Thaddeus and Gabriel will be around keeping an eye on the Young Avengers Initiative. I don’t have a plan.”  
“We will figure it out,” Mark said leaning in to kiss Steve. “Don’t be afraid to tell me next time.” Steve just smiled and nodded at Mark’s words.   
“Since when do you two avoid the party?” Mark heard, he knew this voice.   
“You know, if you were anyone else, I would have snapped at you for not leaving us alone,” Mark said looking up to Fury.   
“Well, I would snap back with wondering why you two need to sneak off in secret. You both are wearing a ring now,” Fury said. Mark looked down at his hand, and he saw Steve do the same. It was something they would need to figure out.   
“I can’t manage the dynamics of Steve and your relationship. I lose track over which one of you is dying for the other on a given day,” Fury said.   
Mark laughed, “You are such an asshole, you know that?” Steve shoved Mark, but Mark saw a smile on Steve’s face.  
Fury smiled, “I need to keep you guys in line.”  
“Since when do you need to keep me in line?” Mark asked.   
“Is your memory gone again? Do you not remember breaking into S.H.I.E.L.D. and holding a knife to my throat after making a threat to do it weeks prior? From that point on you have been a headache I need to keep in line.”   
“Don’t make me regret not following through,” Mark said. “Why are you here?”   
“Mission,” Fury said throwing a file at Mark. “I am sending you to London.”  
Mark grabbed the file and opened it. Steve leaned over to look at the file as well. “So I am the representative for the American Avengers? You sure you want to send a loose cannon such as myself there?”  
“Don’t make me regret my decision. You look like you need a break, anyway,” Fury said looking over at Steve. Mark curiously looked the file.   
“You’re sending me alone? You have lost it. Is this why many of the board members are talking about your leadership?” Mark asked.   
“Since when do I care about what they say? They don’t know how to lead anything, only criticize,” Fury spat out.   
“True,” Mark said.   
“It might be good,” Steve said. Mark looked at Steve. “It could give us time to plan… you know,” Steve gestured at their hands. Mark nodded.  
“It’s true. We can figure things out and have a plan. We didn’t realize how much these rings give away.”  
“That’s not a bad thing,” Steve said smiling. Mark bumped Steve playfully. “But for this case, it is.” Steve sighed.   
“Well then pack and leave tonight. I personally don’t care, you just need to get your ass over there and meet with The Avengers in London. The rest is in the file,” Fury said as he began to walk away. “Figure it out.”  
Mark watched Fury walk away. Then he opened the file in his hands and read it. It looked like Fury would be sending Mark out on his own. Did Fury know that Thaddeus and Gabriel would be an issue? No way Fury could have planned this so quickly. Mark didn’t know what to do, now. He closed the file and stood up. Mark could hear the music going on and the sounds of everyone enjoying themselves. He looked down at Steve and reached out his hand.   
“Come on, I need to pack. And you need to head back to the party,” Mark said.   
Steve grabbed Mark’s hand and stood up. “So not going to be gone for weeks at a time because I messed up?” Steve asked. Mark laughed and leaned in to kiss Steve. Steve smiled.  
“No, I wouldn’t leave unless Fury needed me to go. I think I learned my lesson from the last time. We will figure this out, and we have time.”   
Steve leaned in to hug Mark. “I’m still sorry. I am really lucky to have you.”  
Mark squeezed Steve a little tighter when he said this. “I think we are both lucky Steve. We have a few days. Come up with a plan, and I will do the same. They are not going to tear us apart.”  
Steve leaned back and looked into Mark’s eyes. “Promise?” Steve asked.   
“Promise,” Mark said and smiled. Steve looked into Mark’s eyes for a while before he hugged Mark again.   
“She told me to find someone who looked at me the way that she did,” Steve said. Mark was curious what Steve meant.   
“Who said that?” Mark asked, and Steve just shook his head as he pulled from the hug.   
“Later. I will tell you later,” Steve said as he turned to walk to the party. “Enjoy London,” Steve said as he walked forward.   
Mark took in a deep breath and let it out while looking at the file in his hand. “We will figure it out, Steve,” Mark said to himself as he walked into the mansion.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
Steve  
Steve walked down the stairs to the foyer and looked around. He didn’t see anyone in the kitchen or anywhere on the first floor. Steve was wondering if people were avoiding him after yesterday’s incident. He wasn’t sure. Things ended well with Mark, so Steve was confused what this was all about. Steve walked over to the lab door and opened it. Steve began to walk down the stairs, and he saw Andrea and Tony working in the lab. Both Tony and Andrea looked up at Steve then went back to their work. Steve could feel the anger at him from everyone since last night.   
“Morning,” Steve said.   
“Morning,” Andrea and Tony said to Steve at the same time. Neither one of them looked up at Steve. Steve stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He didn’t know if he should keep walking or just leave with how both Andrea and Tony were treating him. Steve took in a breath and stepped forward.   
“Is everyone mad at me?” Steve asked.   
Both Andrea and Tony stopped working and looked at one another. Tony shrugged his shoulders at Andrea and Andrea sighed. It seemed like they were having a conversation without speaking.   
“Yes,” Andrea said.   
“Why?” Steve asked, unclear about what caused everyone to be so mad at him.   
Andrea didn’t answer him. Steve saw Tony look over at Andrea, but sighed and went back to work when Andrea didn’t respond. This was getting on Steve’s nerves, everyone was reacting to part of the story and not the whole thing.   
“You don’t really understand what it is like,” Steve said waiting for Andrea or Tony to inquire into what he means and respond.   
“All I understand is you were proud to tell everyone here that you and Mark were planning a wedding, and now you won’t even stand near Mark around the board members of S.H.I.E.L.D. So help me understand anything, please,” Andrea snapped back.   
Steve didn’t have a reply. He knew what Andrea was saying was true. “I just don’t know how to tell them. They see Captain America when they see me. Most people do,” Steve said.   
“So do you want us to see you as only Captain America? Cause the one person who never saw you like that was Mark,” Andrea said back to Steve. Steve looked down, and he couldn’t look at Andrea as she said the truth to him. Andrea was right. It was hard for Steve to fully realize what he did to Mark. Somehow Mark forgave him and was able to understand why Steve acted this way and hid his true self. The others saw it differently.   
“He forgave me for what I did last night,” Steve finally said. “Mark gets it.”  
“And I think he has finally gone insane if he forgave you for that, Steve,” Andrea said. “You didn’t see his face when it happened, I did. I have never in my life seen him so hurt. He has been shot, stabbed, poisoned, and almost killed more times than I can count, but that pain…” Andrea stopped herself as she remembered the look Mark gave. “I have never seen it before.”  
Steve was feeling the weight of the situation.   
Steve felt it would be best to leave before he heard more about how much pain he caused Mark. Steve didn’t need to be reminded of the face Mark made, he saw it. Steve tried to block out the expression on Mark’s face when Steve pulled his hand away, but he couldn’t. Still, after all that pain, Mark forgave Steve. Steve was unsure if he deserved Mark’s forgiveness and began to question again if he deserved Mark at all. Steve began to walk up the stairs. Tony and Andrea didn’t say anything to him as he left. Steve walked into the foyer and went over to the kitchen. Steve saw Natasha and Sam sitting in the kitchen, and they both looked over at him as he entered. Steve walked over to the table and sat down. Natasha and Sam looked at one another then at Steve.   
“What? Are you two ignoring me as well?” Steve asked.   
“I’m not,” Sam said.   
Natasha didn’t answer she just picked up her drink and began to walk out of the room. Natasha stopped and looked at Steve. “I don’t really know what to say, Steve. You really hurt Mark,” Natasha said as she left the room.   
“Told you, you really messed up,” Sam said drinking his coffee.   
“Ugh!” Steve said leaning back in the chair. “What am I suppose to do? Mark forgave me, but people seem to be taking it out on me. Mark said he was fine with what I did the other night, and he understood it. If anything, we all should be thanking Bucky for talking to Mark. Could it get any worse here?”   
“Don’t know, but things are going to get much more complicated,” Sam said.   
“How can things get much more complicated around here? It will be a week and a half before the kids move into the dorms. What else do I need to worry about?” Steve asked.   
Sam had taken a sip of his coffee before he spoke, “You know the board members of S.H.I.E.L.D. are having Sharon Carter monitor this initiative. She will be around here a lot, Steve. How are you going to act with Mark when she is around? Not only that, but both Thaddeus and Gabriel are not big fans of Mark. They are going to test him. The fact he is leading the training is going to a thorn in their side. It will be fun to see Mark shut them up when he proves them wrong, though.”  
Steve sighed, “I can’t believe they will be sticking around. And you’re right, with Sharon here, it will be tough for me to do anything with Mark. What do you think I should do?” Steve asked.   
“What you should have done in the beginning, come clean. Tell them that you are engaged, and the person was there standing right next to you. This whole situation would have been avoided, and we wouldn’t have to deal with a mansion divided," Sam said.   
“We are not divided,” Steve said.   
“You’re right, it’s more everyone against Steve right now. The only reason I am talking to you is that I have known you for years and met Mark last night. Truth be told, if I was here for a while I might be joining in the crusade against Steve Rogers right now,” Sam explained.   
Steve rested his head on the table.   
“Do you even know where Mark is right now? I haven’t seen him all day,” Sam asked.   
“London,” Steve began to answer. “Fury sent him over there to get the leader of their Avenger team and to get the last student. He didn’t leave because he was mad. I am sure everyone thinks he left for a mission for God knows how long again.”  
“I wouldn’t blame him if he did,” Sam said sipping his coffee.   
“I get it, I messed up big time. Does the whole house need to let me know that?” Steve asked.   
“You didn’t see how hurt he was, though. I can see why everyone backs him up. He pulls you in and lets you speak freely with him. It was weird like I knew him for a very long time. I am seeing what people say about him now, and the long descriptions of him you emailed me make sense,” Sam said.   
“Well, nothing I can do now until he comes back with the other team members. Unless Mark tells everyone the truth, they won’t believe me,” Steve said standing up and walking to the kitchen. Steve got a mug and a tea bag. He would need to make his tea himself today. Steve sighed at the idea he would not be drinking tea made by Mark today.   
“What do you know about the London team?” Steve asked.   
“Nothing you wish to know,” Sam said.   
“Now I am curious,” Steve replied.   
“The kid we are getting got his codename from you. He is Captain Britain. Funny I know, but different powers. Flight for one, super strength, and healing ability. I think that is it really. The leader’s name is Union Jack. I worked with both of them a few times overseas. I think I will stop there,” Sam said.   
“Why stop? What aren’t you telling me?” Steve asked.   
“I think you need to come up with a plan on how you are going to handle this whole situation with Mark first. If I tell you more it will just drive you insane,” Sam said.   
Steve sighed, “You’re right. I don’t even know where to begin with this. No one will talk to me. They just keep reminding me how much I hurt Mark. I don’t need to be reminded.”  
“You have a few days. You should cool off, focus on getting the dorms ready and setting up the schedule. When you are more level headed, maybe then talk to Mark and figure it out?” Sam asked.   
“You think Mark has a plan already?” Steve asked.   
“He should. I mean the stories you told me, he comes up with the craziest plans that always work. It’s insane. Even when he lost his memories, he was three steps ahead of Hydra. He will figure out something,” Sam said.   
“What do I do about Sharon Carter, Thaddeus, and Gabriel?” Steve asked.   
“Which is more important to you? Captain America being seen as straight to them or Steve Rogers being happy?” Sam asked.   
Steve froze at the question. He knew the answer, but it was not put so clear to him before. Steve took a sip of his tea and sat down at the table. “We both know the answer to that,” Steve said.   
“Do we? Cause if I go based on your history, I would say Captain America appearing straight to them was more important,” Sam said.   
“Mark is different than Bucky,” Steve said.   
“I know he is, which is why I ask. Don’t make it seem like I know all that goes on here. I would hope the ladder was the answer, but you had to put your own happiness aside before to make sure you looked the part for other people,” Sam said leaning back in his chair.   
“Not this time,” Steve said standing up. “I don’t have to do that with Mark.”  
“Where are you going?” Sam asked.   
“The training room. I need to think about how I am going to make this up to Mark. I know he forgave me, but he still needs a proper apology,” Steve said as he put his mug in the sink.   
“Some things don’t change,” Sam said shaking his head as Steve walked out of the kitchen. Steve was going to figure this out, he needed to if he wanted to figure out how to handle the board memebrs and Sharon Carter.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
Mark  
Mark was walking down the streets of London. He arrived the day prior and felt it would be nice to just explore the city before he went to the headquarters of the Avengers in this country. Mark mainly spent time in the local areas which allowed him to clear his mind and relax. He felt today would be a good day to enjoy a local pub. Mark entered the pub and sat down at the bar. The pub was packed with locals for being earlier in the day. Mark saw the bartender approach, and he ordered a beer on tap. Mark paid for his pint and took a sip. It was nice to have some local beer and not have it be tainted by travel. Mark pulled out his headphones and put them in and then took another sip of his pint.   
Mark was enjoying the area. Fury was right, it was good to get away and clear his head. Mark reacted to the whole situation with Steve. Mark still felt pain from what Steve did, but Bucky was right. Steve was still struggling to be himself fully to those he worried about. The S.H.I.E.L.D. members had a hold on Steve. Mark needed to plan on how to work this all out and break Steve from that hold. Mark looked down at his pint and wished he was here with Steve. Mark couldn’t help it. It was London, something he wished to share with Steve. Well, one of Many places he wishes to travel with Steve.   
This wasn't something Mark wanted to think about, but he couldn’t help himself. Mark looked down at his hand at the ring he wore. Mark spun the ring around his finger, he always did this when he thought of Steve or felt anxious.   
Mark ordered another drink and just wondered what he was going to do when he got back to New York. Mark would have never thought Steve would hide how he felt about him to other people, but Steve coward when the board members of S.H.I.E.L.D. showed up to the event. Mark couldn’t believe Steve, and everyone else couldn’t believe it either. Mark took a sip of his drink hoping it would help him calm down.   
Mark put his pint down and felt something in the bar. Someone was watching him. Mark picked up his drink and took a sip. While taking a drink, Mark looked around the bar. Mark acted like he was taking in the scenery, but he was scoping the area. Someone here was watching him, and Mark didn’t know why. It was tough to tell who was watching him, each person looked to be here and a regular. No one looked out of place. This person was good.   
Mark finished his drink and pushed the mug forward. Mark stood up and walked out of the bar. If the person wouldn’t stand out of the crowd, then he would follow him. Mark left the bar and walked a few blocks down the road. Mark turned the corner, and as he did, he looked to the side and saw a man following him whom he recognized at the bar. Mark knew someone there was watching. Mark needed to think of a plan. This wasn’t going to be difficult. Although this person evaded Mark in the bar, he was foolish enough to be caught now. Mark continued to walk a few more blocks at the same pace as before. He didn’t want to have the man know he was found out. Mark looked up to the roofs of the buildings, these were the right height. Mark saw an alley coming up, and he turned into the alley.   
Mark walked a bit then jumped up on the side of the building. Mark climbed his way to the roof and ducked down. The man turned the corner down the alley. Mark watched the man, he looked confused. The man walked back and looked down the street to see if he went down the wrong alley. The man returned to the alley and walked down slowly. Mark watched the man and waited for his moment to attack. The man walked down the alley far enough now, Mark jumped down. The man turned, and Mark swung a punch, hitting the man. The man turned around and tried to fight back. Mark blocked three punches and then grabbed the man’s arm. Mark spun the man around and pinned him against the wall. Mark formed a dagger in his free hand and held it to the man’s throat.   
“Who sent you?” Mark asked.   
“Normally, a guy asks me questions about myself before he pins me down,” the man said.   
Mark pushed the dagger into the man’s skin. “Tell me,” Mark said.   
“Who knew Americans could be so in control. But I should be asking you why you are late to showing up to the Avengers headquarters here in London?” the man asked.   
“I can see why you need training,” Mark said letting go of the man and letting his dagger fold into his cuff.   
The man turned around, “Joseph Chapman,” Joey said as he held out his hand.” You can call me Joey.” Mark shook it, “I’m Mark.”  
“So the tales of you were not lies,” Joey said.   
“Tales?” Mark asked.   
“The legendary assassin. The man who lived for over a hundred years and building his skills and reputation. Everyone knows about you,” Joey said.   
“Yeah well things change, like me losing my powers,” Mark said crossing his arms. “What was with the third-rate stalking skills?”   
“Man, you’re brutal,” Joey said. “I was sent to find you. I thought I would see if you lived up to your name. I wasn’t disappointed in more ways than one,” Joey said smiling. Mark looked at Joey. He was a tall man, still shorter than Steve. Black hair, brown eyes, and a British accent. Mark noticed how he was dressed in a sweater, jeans, and boots. The boots reminded Mark of Steve’s, and he found himself thinking of him again. Mark sighed, “Don’t mean to be brutal, I just can be a tough teacher. So why follow me? I don’t need to meet at headquarters until tomorrow,” Mark said.   
“Fury called ahead. When we knew you were in the city, I decided to find you and see if I could test my skills out. It didn’t take you long to spot me and know I was following you,” Joey said.   
“Years of practice,” Mark said flashing a smile. “It’s hard for anyone to get the slip on me.”  
“I noticed,” Joey said rubbing his shoulder where Mark slammed it into the wall.   
“Sorry about that, I didn’t want to take any chances,” Mark said apologetically.   
“It’s alright, you can get me a pint to make up for it,” Joey said smiling.   
“Um, don’t we need to be at headquarters? You said you came to get me,” Mark asked.   
“You said it yourself, you don’t need to be there until tomorrow. And it will be a good way for you to get to know one of your future students,” Joey said.   
“You know we haven’t assigned people to their mentors yet. And as far as I know, Steve will be handling training the leaders of each division,” Mark explained.   
“Steve?” Joey asked.   
Mark laughed to himself, “Captain America will be training you.”  
“Well maybe I could get you to give me some private one-on-one training,” Joey said with a coy smile.   
“I will be training the kids, that’s what I signed up for.”   
“Shame. But I have time to convince you otherwise. Come, let’s have a pint.”  
Joey began to walk, and Mark stood there for a moment thinking what he should do. Joey stopped and turned to look at Mark. Mark shrugged his shoulders, “Might as well, I already had two,” and he walked toward Joey.   
“That’s the spirit,” Joey said as he walked next to Mark. Mark felt weird walking with Joey. It was also the comment he said earlier. ‘I wasn’t disappointed in more ways than one.’ Mark wondered what he meant by that. They ended up walking back to the pub they were at earlier. Joey held the door open for Mark. The crowd died down at this time. Mark saw Joey walk over to a high top table.   
“You get the round. You owe me,” Joey said rubbing his shoulder.   
“Fine, what will ya have?”   
“Any beer is fine, draft if you could.”  
Mark went to the counter and got two pints of beer. He paid for it and walked over to the table. Mark slid the beer to Joey and sat down.   
Joey took a sip of the beer, “Just what I need after an injury.”   
“Please,” Mark said making a face. “That was barely a scratch. What do the villains do up here? Fight with insults?”  
“Funny. I am not used to being taken down like that. Normally, the fellow buys me a pint first then pins me, not the other way around.”  
“Careful with your words, Joseph,” Mark said taking a drink.   
“Call me Joey.”   
“Careful with your words, Joey,” Mark repeated.   
“You are cautioning me, and I am not sure as to why. If I were to place a guess, it would be about that ring on your hand,” Joey said smiling and taking a drink. Mark looked down at his hand and thought of Steve.   
“Yeah, that’s the main reason,” Mark said pulling his hand close and spinning the ring again like he did earlier.   
“Lucky fellow. If how you pinned me against the wall is any indication of how you…”  
“Weren’t you cautioned?” Mark asked cutting Joey off.   
“I was but still, so who is the man?”  
Mark was about to speak before he remembered how Steve reacted a few days ago. Mark found himself frozen by the question and didn’t know how to respond. The silence increased.   
“Don’t want to say? That is fair. I shouldn’t ask such personal questions right away,” Joey took a drink. Mark was happy Joey just let it slide. “I am surprised to hear you don’t deny liking men.”   
“Why deny it? I have lived too long to hide that part of myself. I don’t announce it, but I will confirm it when asked.” Mark then realized what he said. Steve didn’t have the life he did or the carefree attitude he held. Steve was with Bucky and made to believe horrible things about himself. Mark needed to stand by Steve right now.   
“That is fair. So what is your mission here in London?”   
“Fury wanted me to assess your skills as well as Captain Britain's. I was supposed to report back to let him know if you guys needed to be trained further to establish an Avengers team here in London,” Mark explained.   
“And your assessment?”   
“You need more training,” Mark said taking a sip.   
“Brutal! Do I get any points for my skills?”   
“I will give you one thing. You blended into the crowd well. When I looked around the bar, I couldn’t tell who was watching me. From that point on, you failed,” Mark said.   
“I wouldn’t say I failed. I got pinned by a handsome assassin, it was worth it,” Joey smiled.   
“Say your jokes now, but if I were a Hydra Agent, you would be dead right now.”   
“But you aren’t so I would say it all worked out for me.”   
“Finished your beer,” Mark said as he chugged his drink. “We need to go to headquarters.”  
“What only one drink?”  
“You said I owe you a drink. I got you one, and now I need to meet Captain Britain. So let’s go.”   
“Fine,” Joey said as he chugged his drink and pushed his mug to the center of the table. Joey stood up and followed Mark.   
“Are you sure you want to meet him after three pints?” Joey asked as they left the bar.   
“I am fine. I would have only had two if you didn’t whine that I owed you a drink for hurting you.”  
“How else would I have gotten some one on one time with you?” Joey asked smiling.   
“Am I like a hero to you or something?” Mark asked staring at Joey.   
“Something like that,” Joey smiled and looked away. Mark knew that face… it was the same face Steve made when they first started to get to know one another. Mark looked forward and tried to avoid eye contact with Joey. He did not want to give the wrong impression, and Joey did see the ring Mark wore. He must know that Mark was not on the market.   
They arrived at the Avengers headquarters in London. Joey led the way in the building, Mark followed. Mark looked around and noticed how much smaller the facility was compared to S.H.I.E.L.D. It would make sense that the new organization would have a smaller building. Joey led the way to the stairs which then lead to the training room. Here, Mark found Captain Britain.   
Captain Britain was training, and Mark watched as he flew through the room dodging the projectiles fired at him. Captain Britain then fought a few drones which appeared in front of him. Mark stepped closer to watch the technique.   
“Good isn’t he?” Joey asked Mark.   
“You can tell he is young.”   
“What do you mean?”  
“Showing off more than he needs to, using more energy than required, and his fighting technique is not refined enough,” Mark explained.   
Captain Britain took out the last drone and looked over at Joey and Mark. He walked over and took off his mask. “Cheers, you must be the American come to train us.”   
“Mark,” Mark introduced himself and held out his hand.   
“Brian Braddock,” Brian said as he shook Mark’s hand.   
“And for clarification, you are coming to New York to be trained, I am not staying here.”   
“Yankee not enjoying it in London?” Brain asked.   
“Something like that, also miss home,” Mark said smiling.   
“We will be training with other members there as well,” Joey said. “It will be a good experience for you to have team members your age and to work with them.”  
“They will benefit from having me on their team. I got a lot of skill which will allow me to climb the ranks quickly,” Brain boasted.   
“Something like that,” Mark said. “You have power, but don’t know how to use it. You can easily be taken down by anyone really if you don’t learn to focus your power. You just enjoy showing off,” Mark said walking past Brain to look around the training room.   
“Show off?”   
“Don’t act like you didn’t throw in some fancy moves when you saw us enter. You leave yourself wide open for attack easily, and I saw it many times in that exercise,” Mark said.   
“Oh really?” Brian glared at Mark.   
“If you disagree, you can try and take me down. You will fail.” Mark said staring at Brian.   
“No need to make threats,” Joey said to Mark and Brian. Brian looked like he was going to attack Mark.   
“Let the youngster try,” Mark smiled. Before Joey could respond, a flash went by, and Brian attacked Mark. Mark dodged left and jumped right to avoid the hits. Brian struggled, unable to land a hit. Mark continued to jump back and dodge left and right from the punches and kicks. Mark watched as Brian became more frustrated and attacked more sporadically. Finally, Mark caught one of Brian’s punches and flipped Brain across the room. Brain landed and turned to look at Mark.   
“So you actually have some skill,” Mark taunted the Young Avenger to be. Mark could see Brain clench his fist and pointed them at Mark. A blast of Energy came out of his fist. Mark barely dodged and thought maybe some of his goatee was singed by the blast.   
“I didn’t see that in your file,” Mark said   
“I like to keep some surprises,” Brain said smiling back and blasted again. Mark was ready this time and dodged to the side and ran dodging each blast.   
“You don’t have any finesse in your shooting,” Mark said looking at Brain.   
“I don’t need any if I hit you,” Brain continued the blasts. Mark got closer, and Brian lifted both fists to send a larger shot at Mark. Mark threw a smoke bomb with cause a large cloud when it impacted with the blast. Brain looked around but could not see Mark. Brain began to shot randomly into the cloud.   
“You are panicking,” Mark mocked the youngster.   
“Show yourself already!” Brian shouted. Then a dagger came flying by Brian. Brian looked back and saw it hit the wall, he turned back to the cloud and saw more flying out of the cloud. Brain blasted a few in mid-air and dodged the others. One cut Brian’s arm as he dodged and then the daggers stopped.   
“Run out of ammo?” Brain asked.   
“Nope,” Brain heard from behind him. Mark kicked Brain’s feet from behind him and slammed Brain to the ground hand and held him there.   
“Looks like I won,” Mark said as he let go of Brain.  
“I could have gotten out of that.”  
Mark turned to Brian, “Look to your left.”   
Brian turned his head and saw a dagger inches away from his head.   
“You would be dead right now,” Mark walked over to Joey.   
“Did you have to scare the lad?” Joey asked.   
Mark turned back and saw Brain slowly move away from the dagger. Brain stared at it, and Mark could see Joey was right, Brain was shaken from the fight. Mark walked back over to Brian and offered his hand.   
“You fought well, You need to refine your skills but know if this were a real fight, no villain would ever let an opportunity pass by him.”  
Brian looked up at Mark’s hand and took it. Mark pulled Brain up, but Brain was looking down on the ground at the dagger.   
“You didn’t even go full force against me, did you?” Brain asked.   
“If I did, I wouldn’t have been able to assess your skills. Don’t take it too personally, I can take down any Avenger if I wanted to. A few times I have.”  
“How? You don’t have powers?” Brain asked.   
“I have decades of training. When I had powers, I refined my fighting and never used my full strength. I needed to adapt to not kill all those around me. When I lost my powers, I pushed myself past the point of human ability. I am able to fight better than any human and most superhumans. What makes me different is my ability to plan, adapt to fights, and remain unpredictable. These are the skills you can learn if you want to come train with me,” Mark said with a smile.   
“I want to learn, I have so much to learn. I never have been beaten so badly by someone with no powers.”  
“What do you expect from the legend himself?” Joey asked.   
“I am not a legend. I had a curse on me, let’s not glorify what I lived through,” Mark said glaring at Joey. Joey’s smile faded, and Mark turned to look at Brain. Mark was finally able to see the blonde haired blued eyed boy. Mark couldn’t help but think of Steve right now, but he couldn’t let his emotions show.   
“So what do you say?” Mark asked.   
“I’m in,” Brain said smiling. Mark smiled. “So you might want to take the next week to pack up and say your good-byes. You will be in the States for a while training.”  
“I will, when do we leave?” Brian asked Mark. Mark turned to Joey.   
“You will leave in a week. I will arrive later to join the other leaders in training,” Joey answered.   
“This is going to be awesome,” Brian said.   
“For now, go get cleaned up. You got a lot to do to prepare for your trip,” Mark said.   
Brian ran out of the room, only turning to wave as he left. Mark waved back.   
“You have a way with the youngsters,” Joey said walking up to Mark.   
“What do you mean?” Mark asked.   
“I have been trying to break his overconfidence and showmanship for months now. You come in and serve him up a piece of humble pie. I don’t even think Captain America could have taken down that boy with how much raw talent he has.”   
“Steve could have taken him down. The only advantage Brian had was people not knowing about his blasts. He could have caught Steve by surprise, and that is a big maybe,” Mark explained as he pulled the dagger out of the ground.   
“Steve? On a first name basis with Captain America?” Joey asked. Mark felt his brain freeze, but he remained calm in his actions. He couldn’t believe he slipped up without thinking. Of course he was on a first name basis with his fiance, but not everyone needed to know it. Steve didn’t want everyone to know about it.  
“I train Steve and am an Avenger, why wouldn’t I be on a first name basis with him?”  
“I just hear he is a stickler for using code names is all.”   
“Yeah he is, I always get yelled at on missions. Oh well, I am not used to code names working alone for so long,” Mark grabbed the other daggers still intact and had them fold into his cuffs.   
“So what now? You got us to agree to go, what will you do during your stay in London?”  
Mark grabbed the last dagger and sighed as it folded into his cuff. “I think I will take a red-eye back to the States. I needed the trip to clear my head, and I think I did that. I better get back and help prepare for everyone to arrive,” Mark said as he put his hands in his pockets.   
“Sad, I was hoping to show you around the city,” Joey said smiling.   
“You fail to see the ring on my finger,” Mark said pulling out one hand from his pocket.   
“You remain secret about it. I do not know if it is a deterrent to keep men away from you for now,” Joey said. Mark laughed. “It’s not a deterrent. It’s real, to me it is.”  
“I see.”   
“Don’t read into that,” Mark said as he walked toward the door.   
“Of course not, if I learned anything from you, it is to not assume anything,” Joey said smiling.   
“Exactly,” Mark said leaving the room. He did want to return home, he couldn’t help but wonder what Steve was up to right now. He wanted to call and ask, but he knew it might be better to ask in person in case their phones were now tapped. Mark pulled out his phone. Mark wrote a simple message to all other team members about Steve.   
“Don’t be too hard on Steve. I need you guys to be nice to him about the whole situation, least for me. Thanks.” And sent it to the team members. Mark put his phone in his pocket and decided he would go to the hotel and pack. He would catch the next flight back to the States. He needed to see Steve and they both needed to plan how the board members of S.H.I.E.L.D. would react to them.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
Andrea  
Andrea walked up from the lab carrying a ton of monitoring cameras in her arms along with her laptop. She walked up the first set of stairs balancing the items in her arms worried she would drop something. She reached to top of the stairs, and one of the cameras began to fall.   
“Shit,” Andrea said as she looked at it on the ground. She didn’t know how she was going to pick it up with everything in her hands.   
“Let me help,” Andrea heard as Steve reached down to pick up the camera. Andrea looked at Steve who looked to be worried about how Andrea would react. Andrea stood there in silence for a moment then let out a sigh. “Fine, take a few more if you are going to help.”   
Steve grabbed half of the cameras from Andrea and followed her up the stairs. Andrea went to the center of the training room and put the cameras down in the middle and pulled out her laptop. Steve put the cameras down with the rest and began to walk away.   
“Where are you going?” Andrea asked. Steve turned around shocked Andrea was talking to him. “I helped I…”  
“If you are going to help then you are staying to help me set up,” Andrea said. Steve smiled and nodded as he walked back over to Andrea.   
“I am going to need some tools, can you get them for me? Along with nails or screws,” Andrea said without looking up from her laptop.   
“Sure,” Steve said as he left the room to get the items.   
Andrea knew she couldn’t give the cold shoulder to Steve forever. She would have if needed. The only reason she was trying right now was because of the message Mark sent last night. He asked for everyone to not be mean to Steve anymore. Andrea didn’t know what happened in London, but she hoped Mark figured something out to stop all this nonsense. Steve came back to the room with tools in hand. Steve put the case down near Andrea and opened it.   
“You should get out the hammer and the power drill,” Andrea said. Steve did as he was told and sat on the floor near Andrea. Andrea was typing away as she looked around the room. She was trying to find the best positions for the cameras.   
“What is this for?” Steve asked.   
“Tony asked me to update the abilities tracking system. I need to update the cameras too in this room. Tony used the old models when he built the new room, and now we need to change them. If I am going to get an accurate reading of everyone’s abilities I am going to need these new cameras installed,” Andrea explained.   
“Makes sense,” Steve said. “Can I ask another question?”  
“You just did, but I will give you another,” Andrea couldn’t help but crack a smile.   
“Is everyone talking to me again?” Steve asked as he looked down at the computer screen.   
“I don’t know if everyone will be talking to you like I am right now. When Mark comes back, things should be back to how they were before he left,” Andrea answered.   
“What do you mean?” Steve looked at Andrea.   
“I mean if people are talking to you again like they did before, you have Mark to thank for that,” Andrea clarified.   
Steve smiled as he looked down. Andrea could tell Steve felt better about the news, least she was talking to him which was a big thing for Steve to have right now.   
“So he told everyone to talk to me again?”   
“You know the answer to that.”   
“I do,” Steve replied. “Did he explain the whole situation to everyone?”  
“He left that part out. Not sure why he did if it true what you say,” Andrea said.   
“What?”  
“Well, who knows if what you told us is true? I mean yeah Bucky backed you up but…” Andrea stopped herself.   
“Mark is the only one who really trusts Bucky completely. Is that what you were going to say?”   
Andrea looked over at Steve. “You don’t trust him fully?”   
Steve looked down at the tools and began to play with the hammer in his hand. “I want to. It’s just her was really trying to hurt Mark. I get he was brainwashed but still… I saw Bucky shot Mark. It sticks with me every time I see Bucky. I tense up worried he is still brainwashed. It’s hard to trust someone who hurts the person you care about the most.”  
“Steve, I have been on missions with Mark for the past seven years. I have seen him shot, stabbed, and almost die. We put him through torture with the memory recovery machine. I had seen the emotional meltdowns from memory loss. I saw his reaction when he attacked us under Loki’s control, and I can tell you I have never seen him as hurt as I did a few days ago. I can’t even describe the look on his face. Can you maybe now know why we all took it so hard what you did?” Andrea said in a firm voice.   
“Oh,” Steve said as he looked down. “I didn’t think of it that way. Yeah, I do. I had no clue that would hurt him so much when I did it.”   
“Had no Clue? HAD NO CLUE? Steve, do you know how much he cares about you? Not a day goes by he doesn’t just look at you and smile. He wears that ring you gave him with pride. Of course, he would be crushed by what happened. That’s why so many of us were pissed at you. Not to mention, what a fucked up reason to hurt him.”  
“I know,” Steve shouted leaning his head back. “I know,” he said softer.   
“Well right now I need you to take down that camera,” Andrea said pointing in the corner, “And put up this one.” Andrea handed Steve one of the new cameras.   
Steve took the camera and the power drill. Andrea was lucky to have Steve help, he was taller and could reach the cameras. If he weren't here, Andrea would need a ladder to help, or she would have forced Bucky to help her.   
Steve drilled the screws out fo the camera on the wall and put it down. He took the camera Andrea gave him and quickly put it up on the wall. Steve began to walk back, and Andrea ran tests to make sure that camera was functioning.   
“Why did you do it?” Andrea asked.   
“Fear,” Steve answered honestly.   
“Of what? Since when are you afraid of anything?” Andrea asked.   
“I am afraid of many things,” Steve confessed. “I was afraid of what the board members might think if they knew I was with Mark. I already knew their opinion of him wasn’t the best. Their thinking isn’t the most forward, and I didn’t know what they would think of Captain America.”  
“So were you afraid of losing the image of Captain America more than losing Mark?” Andrea asked.   
“I…I didn’t know I might lose Mark,” Steve said quietly. Andrea handed Steve another camera and pointed to another one on the wall. Steve went to change the cameras.   
“What is so scary about those men anyway?”   
“Many things, I guess I fell back into my old fears before the war,” Steve said. “I see my past when I see them. I didn’t think.”  
“Clearly, you didn’t,” Andrea said as Steve walked back to her.   
“I did what I was told to do many times, act the part. Be the American hero,” Steve said with a sigh.   
“So are you back with Bucky?” Andrea asked. Steve’s eyes went wide with the questions. “No!” Steve said loudly as he caught his reaction, “Why would you say that?”   
“Your choices are the same as when you were with Bucky, least that is what Tony tells me. So you’re not with Bucky, and you think Mark wants you to hide who you are?”   
“I know he doesn’t,” Steve said picking up a camera before Andrea told him. “I have to think about other things now, though.”   
Andrea pointed to another camera on the wall as Steve went to it, “Like what?”  
“Like what they might do to Mark. I heard how they spoke about him. I didn’t like it. I don’t want them to do anything to him,” Steve said.   
“Don’t worry about what they might plan against Mark,” Andrea said typing away on her laptop. “He can handle anything anyone throws at him.”  
“Isn’t that what gets him into most life-threatening situations?” Steve asked.   
Andrea looked up at Steve when he asked this, “Are they threatening his life?”   
“No,” Steve clarified.   
Andrea turned back to the laptop, “Then he can manage it.”  
Andrea could hear Steve laugh as he switched out another camera. Steve walked back over to Andrea. “Am I not allowed to protect him from things?”   
“By doing dumb shit to hurt him? No, you are not allowed to do that.”   
“I get it,” Steve said.   
“And from what I hear, you are protecting him with the information you gathered after you made your decision to lie about your engagement. So don’t try and justify it now,” Andrea felt herself getting louder. Andrea calmed herself before she really began to yell at Steve.   
Steve sighed as he grabbed another camera, “I know.”  
“So what are you going to do?” Andrea asked as she pointed to another camera.   
“I don’t really know. First of all, fully thank Mark for understanding me and show him how much I really care about him. The other part will be hard, figuring out how to act around Mark when the board members are here,” Steve said as he walked to the camera.   
“And can you do it?” Andrea asked knowing what Steve was referencing.  
“I don’t know, Andrea,” Steve said as he unscrewed the camera on the wall. “It is a lot to manage at once from all these people who look at me as only Captain America. I never had to face this before. When I was with Bucky, he never wanted to act like we were together. It’s the first time I had someone who wanted people to know we were together.”  
“Who cares what those assholes think?”  
“There you are, Steve,” Andrea heard from the door. Andrea looked over at Commander Gabriel Jones walking forward.   
“Commander Jones, what brings you here?” Steve said standing up. Andrea didn’t bother standing up, she continued typing on her laptop as Gabriel addressed Steve.   
“I came by to see the progress on everything. I received an update from Fury and wanted to stop in and see it for myself. I also wanted to raise a few concerns some of the board members had.”   
“Concerns?” Steve asked.   
“I have to agree with Steve, what concerns could there be? We covered everything while updating the system here. We even unanimously decided on who will teach what to the Young Avengers. What ‘concerns’ could you possibly have?” Andrea asked.   
Gabriel looked down at Andrea, “You’re Tony Stark’s wife, correct? We never actually met. I am Commander Gabriel Jones, one of the board members of S.H.I.E.L.D.”  
“I know who you are,” Andrea said looking at Gabriel’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you,” and turned back to her laptop.   
“I see,” Gabriel said as he withdrew his hand. “We just have a few concerns is all. Mainly one of the teachers for the Young Avengers, the assassin.”  
“What concern do you have with Mark?” Andrea asked glaring from her laptop.   
“I am curious as well, what concerns could you have about Mark? He is the best fighter we have on the team, and he has improved all our fighting skills since we began training with him. His track record shows his ability both as an Avenger and a trainer,” Steve said.   
“We have yet to see his abilities at work. We only know of his reputation,” Gabriel said.   
“And that’s not enough for you to want him to train the Young Avengers?” Andrea asked.   
“We are concerned about what he would teach them. We also share some concerns with his liberal views and lifestyle. As well as some concerns about how close he is to you, Captain America,” Gabriel said to Steve.   
“Liberal views and lifestyles? Are you trying to say you have an issue with him being gay?” Andrea felt herself getting louder. She was trying to hold back her anger, but she heard the plastic break on the laptop with how hard she held it.  
“Andrea,” Steve said, and Andrea let go of the laptop and saw a crack in the plastic. Andrea looked back up at Steve, who turned to Gabriel. “And what concerns do you have of him being close to me? He is an Avenger and a team member. We all are close,” Steve said.  
“The board is just concerned with the rumors out there about Captain America. A few years ago the Avenger Gala had quite a scandal with you arriving with that assassin. Photos of you seen dancing with him at Andrea and Tony’s wedding also raised some concerns. We are just worried about what the American Public will think of Captain America if he is associated with such a character,” Gabriel explained.   
Andrea understood more what Steve meant about sharing his true self with the board members. They knew but wanted it to remain hidden. The words coming out of Gabriel also sounded like it held another hidden message. Andrea couldn’t figure it out, maybe Steve knew more about the message.   
“I don’t think the American people have shifted their opinion of Captain America. If anything, Mark has helped gain favor with politicians and other high profile people. Mark has a way of meeting some high profile people without knowing and making friends with them,” Andrea explained.   
“I assume you mean Mrs. Barbra Johnston?” Gabriel said looking at Andrea. “A fluke really. He would have not met here if he did not get the help of Captain America I assure you. The only reason Barbra spoke to Mark was because Captain America was there.”  
“That’s not true,” Steve said in Mark’s defense. “Mark was helping bandage the wounded and helped bandage Barbra when she came to the medical area. She only spoke to him and shared very few words with me. She remains in contact with him much more than she does to any other Avenger. She only arrived at the event here a few days ago to see Mark and Andrea.”  
“It’s true,” Andrea said backing up Steve. “That hooker was only here to see us, she said if we weren’t going to be here, she would have stayed home along with other politicians there that night.”  
“I see,” Gabriel said as he turned to walk away. “Just concerns like I said. You best advice this Mark about these concerns.” Andrea knew these were threats toward Mark. “We will wait to see what he shows us the first day of training for the Young Avengers. Thaddeus and I will be there as well. Hopefully, he does not disappoint like he did the other night.” Gabriel walked out of the room, and Andrea could hear him at the bottom of the stairs as he left.   
“So that’s what you meant,” Andrea said.   
“Yeah, it’s never simple for any of us,” Steve said sitting on the floor. “This is why I don’t know what to do.”  
“What could they threaten Mark with? I mean there is very little,” Andrea asked.   
“They could get him off of the Avengers for good,” Steve said.   
“If the United Nations wishes to admit they are going back on their contract.” Steve looked at Andrea confused. “Remember? Mark made a deal with them. He gets rid of his powers, and he can join the Avengers. He met the deal, and they have to uphold it.”  
“But who is to say they won’t make his life hell or find some dumb reason to get him kicked out of the Avengers? They have a lot of power, Andrea, they could make all our lives hell,” Steve said in a worried tone.   
Andrea handed a camera to Steve and then pointed to one on the wall. “You worry too much. You can handle this how you want, but Mark is not afraid of those goons. He will not care what they threaten him with.”  
“But I care,” Steve said as he walked back from putting another camera up. “I care too much. I won’t let them do anything to him because they are concerned with Captain America’s image.”  
“You need to tell him that,” Andrea said handing Steve another camera. Steve walked away without seeing where he should go then turned around confused. Andrea laughed and pointed to the next camera. “He needs to know this isn’t just about you being an asshole.”  
“I know. I somehow need to tell Mark and have him understand what it really is about. I still don’t know what they have planned for Mark,” Steve unscrewed the camera on the wall.   
“You think they already have something planned?”  
“Yeah, I do. I am more worried about what they have planned for later. I know they underestimate Mark. I’m afraid of what they have planned when they know Mark’s full potential,” Steve said as he walked over to Andrea.   
“We will cross that bridge when we get to it. For now focus on telling Mark and making things better for you two, okay?”   
Steve smiled and nodded. Steve looked around, “I think that was the last camera.”  
“It was,” Andrea looked around the room then back to her laptop. “It looks like they all are functioning at one hundred percent. We can pack up now,” Andrea closed her laptop. Steve put the tools back in the case and closed it.   
“I am happy you are talking to me again,” Steve said smiling.   
“I am too,” Andrea said leading the way out of the training room. “I just hope you and Mark can get through this.”  
“Me too. If they weren’t targeting Mark, this would be a lot easier to manage.”  
“I told you before,” Andrea said smiling, walking down the stairs. “Mark can handle what they throw at him. Just do what you think is best.”  
“I will,” Steve said. “But I will still do what I need to protect him.”  
“I know you will.” She missed talking to Steve as well.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
Steve  
Steve woke up from another nightmare. He had nightmares often when Mark wasn't next to him when he slept. Steve sat up on the bed and looked over to Mark’s side. He hated seeing it empty. There were many months which Steve would see that spot empty when he woke up, it never got easier. Steve sat there for a while. He knew he couldn’t easily get back to sleep after the nightmare he had. He would normally have nightmares about what they all went through in the past. The most recent ones he had were of hearing Mark in the tank when he was getting his memories back. Steve couldn’t get the sounds of Mark screaming in pain out of his head. The nightmare tonight was no different. Steve felt himself shaking a little from the shock of the nightmare, it was worse tonight than most other nights. He wished Mark was here next to him. When Steve would wake up from the nightmares, he would always look and see Mark there sound asleep. It was the best way to get rid of any negative thoughts he had. Tonight, Mark wasn’t here, and Steve needed to manage another nightmare on his own.   
Steve pulled the covers off of him and got out of bed. He walked to his door, but before he left, he looked at the clock. It was about two-thirty in the morning. Steve sighed as he walked out of his room. It was going to be another night of no sleep for him. Steve walked down the hall and noticed all the other lights in everyone else’s rooms were off. Steve figured he was the only one awake at this time. He got to the stairs and saw the light on in the living room. Steve looked back to the rooms and saw all the lights off and doors closed. Steve was curious who could be in the living room at this hour. Steve slowly walked down the stairs and turned to walk to the living room. Steve slowly walked into the living room and smiled. Mark looked up at Steve, “Hey,” Mark said as his normal greeting.   
“Hey,” Steve said back to Mark. “When did you get back?”  
Mark looked at his phone, “About thirty minutes ago. I caught the red-eye flight back to New York.” Mark sat down on the couch and put two mugs on the coffee table. Mark got comfortable on the couch and took one of the mugs.   
“You have two drinks?” Steve asked.   
“Who do you think the other is for?” Mark asked sliding the other mug in Steve’s direction. Steve felt his face turn red as he smiled. Steve walked over to the couch and picked up the mug. Mark made hot chocolate for them both.   
“How did you know I would need this tonight?”   
“Don’t know, just a feeling,” Mark said taking a sip of his drink. Steve took a sip as well, and it felt good having a hot drink right now. It tasted better than it normally did.   
“You always knows how to make the best hot chocolate.” Mark smiled back at Steve not saying anything. Steve thought it was odd for Mark to be so quiet. Steve noticed his leg began to shake as the silence went on. Steve finally broke the silence, “How was London?” Steve asked.   
“It was…interesting,” Mark said. “We will have two more recruits comings. Captain Britain will be joining the Young Avengers, and Union Jack will be joining the training for the leaders of each division.”  
“Oh,” Steve said not expecting Mark to answer bluntly. Steve had thought for a moment before he asked another question. “What made the trip so interesting?”  
Mark was silent for a long time before he answered.“It was a trip that had me thinking a lot,” Mark said. Steve waited, but no further explanation was given to him. Steve began to feel more uncomfortable as the conversation when on with Mark. Steve never got this type of response when he would talk to Mark, he truly began to wonder what Mark thought about while in London.   
“Can you tell me what you are thinking? I know you are not one to be quiet all the time, especially to me.”   
Mark let out a sigh. “Sorry, Steve. I just was trying to think of a plan. It’s just hard to say what I thought about to make this work out best for you.”   
“Work out best for me?”  
“With Thaddeus and Gabriel. I know I am on their bad side and they are planning something,” Mark explained.   
“Did you speak with Andrea? She met Gabriel and thought the same thing.”  
Mark shook his head, “No…Fury warned me. On my flight, he called me. He let me know of the headache I gave him when both Thaddeus and Gabriel yelled at him. Then he did something I have never known him to do.”  
Steve could feel his anxiety going up. Steve took a seat next to Mark. “What did Fury do?”  
“He warned me to be careful with those two. I have known Fury for a very long time. He has never warned me about anything before.”  
Steve took a sip of his hot chocolate. He felt the weight of it all. “So what is so hard to tell me. You said you have a plan.”  
Mark spun the ring around his finger. Steve knew Mark did this when he was in deep thought. Mark always fidgeted with something when he was thinking or worried. Normally Steve thought it was cute to watch Mark do this, but this time, he was worried why Mark was doing it. Steve watched as Mark did this and then looked up at Mark’s face. Mark was staring blankly as he spun the ring. Steve could not tell what Mark was thinking. Mark finally sighed and pulled the ring off of his finger. Steve watched as Mark put the ring on the coffee table and grabbed his mug. Mark stood up and went over to grab his bag.  
Steve’s eyes went wide. “Mark?”   
“I will stay in the guest room. I have enough in my bag for tonight. I will get my stuff out of the room later,” Mark said as he picked up his bag.  
Steve looked over at the ring on the coffee table. He reached over and picked it up. Steve held it in his hand tightly. “Why did you take it off?”  
“I… We need to do this Steve. We need to keep each other safe. The rings give off more information then we need to explain. I won’t wear mine. If you want to wear yours its fine…”  
“Of course I don’t want to wear mine if you don’t have yours on. It means nothing if you don’t have yours on too. We proposed to each other on that day. We should wear them.”  
Mark stood their silently. Steve somehow knew he would not win this argument.   
“I need to keep you safe Steve…”  
Steve was stunned by Mark’s words. “What? What do you know? What did Fury tell you?”  
Mark just crossed his arms and looked down at the ground. “You were right. I didn’t know what they could do. But Thaddeus and Gabriel not only put fear in you, but also in Fury. I can take them down no problem but…” Mark paused and just stood there for a while.   
Steve was confused. It almost looked like Mark was scared as well. “Mark, they won’t do anything to me. I am Captain America to them. They don’t want to lose that.”  
“What lengths will they go to not lose that, Steve? We know Bucky was brainwashed. Could they do that to you? My memories were gone, do they still have the dagger? How far will they really go?” Mark asked as he looked into Steve’s eyes.   
Steve felt the fear in Mark’s eyes. It was more than what Steve felt. “Mark, I can’t let you do this alone.”  
“You’re not letting me do it alone. We just have to throw them off. I think you should be around Sharon more. Maybe flirt with her or something. They don’t need more evidence to piss them off.”  
Steve stood up and walked to Mark. Steve leaned in close, “Mark, I would be horrified if I lost you.” Steve reached for Mark’s hand, but Mark pulled away from Steve.   
“I don’t know if they are watching the camera’s Steve. We need to be careful.”  
Steve began to realize what was going on for Mark. “They already have a target on you. That’s what Fury warned you about. They plan to put you in danger or attack you. Your not telling me the whole conversation you had with Fury.” Steve found himself yelling right now. He watched as Mark continued to look away from Steve.   
“You’re right,” Mark said looking up at Steve. “Fury told me they will use you against me if they find more evidence. The display I showed at the event pissed them off. They already are using my actions when my memory was gone to influence people at the UN and Congress. Fury said they will send a message to me.”  
“What will the message say?” Steve asked worried as Mark kept his distance.   
“I wondered if it would say to stay in line, but Fury said it might be to Stay away from Steve or else,” Mark leaned his back on the doorframe.   
Steve was shocked Thaddeus and Gabriel would go this far. “Or else what?”  
“I asked Fury the same thing. I will just say what he told me has me doing this plan right now Steve.” Mark looked up at Steve. Steve saw a trail from a tear run down Mark's cheek. This sent a shiver down Steve’s spin. What did they tell Mark?  
“You won’t tell me will you?” Steve said.   
Mark shook his head. “I don’t want to repeat it to anyone. But it has me ready to fight them. They have something more planned. I don’t know what, but I will find out. Until then… I will be in the guest room. Thor won’t mind while I crash there,” Mark said with a smile.   
Steve didn’t know what to say. He finally asked the question which continued to pop up in his head.   
“Is it over?”  
“You’re an idiot if you think we are done,” Steve heard without missing a beat. He looked up to see Mark smiling. “I am doing all this to save us. To allow us to be. I would never want to give this up Steve.”  
Steve couldn’t help but feel water in his eyes. He smiled. “I thought you would fight to the end for this.”   
“I always will,” Mark said. Steve stepped forward but stopped himself.   
“Sorry, I guess it is instinct now to just want to hug and kiss you. It will be hard to adjust,” Steve admitted.   
“Agreed,” Mark said as he let out a sigh. “I stayed down here because I knew if I went upstairs I would wake you up for some late night fun.”  
Steve laughed. “Are we really going to do this? Go against them? More importantly, can we fight against our natural instincts?”  
“You make it sound like we were destined for one another and this is all natures plan.”  
Steve felt the heat from a blush go across his face, “It feels like it is natures plan. Least I think it is.” Steve looked up at Mark smiling.   
“You are going to make this very difficult for me, you know that?” Mark said. “And yeah… I guess we both are doing this. I’m not surprised at all. We both did really crazy things for each other in the past.”  
“We did,” Steve said as the memories of all the adventures they had flashed in his mind. He found himself looking down at Mark’s bag. “Can I at least carry your bag up for you?”   
Mark laughed, “I already know what you are trying to do, Steve.” Mark reached down and grabbed his bag. “I know it will be hard for you. The nightmares have been bad.”  
Steve knew he gave away his plan. He was hoping he could get Mark to spend one more night with him. “Are you saying my plan would have worked?”   
“That’s why I grabbed my bag. It wouldn’t take much for you to convince me. But I need to keep you safe. I can handle Thaddeus and Gabriel on my own.”  
“Andrea said you could manage those goons.”  
Steve heard Mark laugh again. It was always soothing to hear Mark laugh.   
“We will get through it. I just want to know something,” Mark said. Steve looked at Mark curiously. “Why didn’t you tell me they could be this bad? We could have planned sooner.”  
Steve looked away. “Honestly, I didn’t. I knew they would put up a resistance to us being together. I never would have thought they would threaten something that has you this scared.”  
“It does have me scared Steve. Really scared.” Steve looked back at Mark when he said those words. Steve could see Mark was lost in his own thoughts.   
“It will be hell for me,” Steve finally said. “But I trust you and your plan.”  
Mark began to turn to leave the room. “I am glad you do. I doubted my own plan when I saw you walk in. I didn’t know how to tell you. Thanks for just being you.”  
Steve smiled at those words. It was always what Mark appreciated from Steve. “Thanks for letting me be me around you,” Steve said as he saw Mark smile and leave the room. Steve looked down at his hand. He focused on his own ring. He thought of Mark’s plan for a long while and finally took his ring off of his hand. “I trust you, Mark,” Steve said to himself. He sat down on the couch again. “It will still be hell though.”


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
Tony  
Tony was rushing to get to the training room. The recruits arrived a few days ago and settled into the dorms. Everything was going according to schedule except for the fact he was late to orientation. Today, the recruits would decide who would be their main mentors after The Avengers displayed their skills in the demonstration. Tony had everything prepared for today but needed to run a few last minute preparations on the software Andrea installed to measure the Young Avengers’ abilities, which made him late. Tony climbed up the stairs and entered the training room.   
He saw the recruits all turn to him on the other side of the room. Good, they were all sitting where they needed to be for this to begin. Tony walked over to Fury, who was standing near Steve, Bucky, and Clint.   
“So are we ready to begin?” Tony asked.   
“We have a few changes,” Fury said looking at Tony.  
“What changes did you make now?” Tony asked.   
“Not me, Stark. Them,” Fury gestured behind Tony. Tony turned to see Sharon Carter standing next to Gabriel and Thaddeus.   
“Why are they here?” Tony asked Fury.   
“They had a few concerns about what you were going to do for orientation. They took it upon themselves to change a few things.”   
“And you didn’t tell me?” Tony yelled at Fury.   
“Tony, Fury didn’t know about this. They just showed up. Who knows what they have planned,” Steve said in Fury’s defense.   
“As much as I enjoy pissing you off Stark, this is none of my doing. Rogers is right, I don’t know what they have in mind, but I can’t say no to the board,” Fury said.   
“Great,” Tony said as he turned to see Mark, Andrea, and Natasha sitting against the wall. Tony cracked a smile when he saw them and walked over to the three.   
“And why are you three wearing pink?”   
“On Wednesdays, we wear pink,” Andrea and Mark said at the same time. Tony let out a laugh.   
“And you joined in?” Tony asked Natasha.   
“Why not? This does feel like a high school,” Natasha shrugged her shoulders.   
“You three are up to something,” Tony said as he looked at Andrea and Mark, who only smiled. “At least you two are up to something.” Andrea blinked to show her innocence while Mark maintained his smile. “It doesn’t matter, if you are interfering, I am in full support of it.”   
Tony walked back to Fury. “So do we wait for The Board Members to speak before we begin or do I just start?” Tony asked.   
“I would say start, the kids have been waiting for a while. The more we can throw them off their game the better,” Fury said looking at the board members.   
“Alright,” Tony said stepping to the center of the training room. “I would like to welcome all of you here today. I know you guys are excited about orientation. First off, congratulations on being part of something new, something bigger than any one of you could be on your own: The Young Avengers. Today you guys will see a few demonstrations of what you will be going through while here at the Avenger Mansion. I know you all want to see us all display our skills at once but only a few of us will today. Behind me are a few of the mentors which you will be working with during your training. We have Hawkeye, Winter Soldier, Lucinda, Creed, Black Widow, and myself. Captain America will focus his efforts on working with the leaders of each division, but he will be coming to training sessions to help out here and there. Any questions?”   
The room was silent as all the young kids looked at Tony. Tony could see their eager eyes watching, ready to join the Young Avenger Initiative.   
“We are starting off the day with a few demonstrations. Once that is complete, we will pair you guys with your mentors,” Tony explained.   
“How will you guys pair us?” Peter Parker asked.   
“Bring out the sorting HAT!” Mark shouted. Tony could hear a few of the teens laughing at the joke.   
“What house are we?” Andrea asked.   
“Raven Claw, duh,” Mark answered.   
“True, intelligence and raw talent. That’s us,” Andrea said.   
“What about me?” Natasha asked.   
“I would see you in Gryffindor with Steve… maybe Bucky too,” Mark answered.   
“What house am I in?” Clint asked. Andrea and Mark looked at one another and turned to Clint. “Hufflepuff,” they said at the same time. The room roared with laughter.   
“I think Fury would be in Hufflepuff too,” Mark said smiling.   
“He definitely would,” Andrea agreed.   
“Alright settle down everyone. We are not sorting you into houses,” Fury said calming down the room. “And for the record, I would be Slytherin.”   
“So no sorting hat today, sorry,” Tony said. “We assessed your guys’ skills throughout the last few days. We had the mentors pick who they felt would be best for each young Avenger. Also, you guys have a say in who you pick. We hope it all matches up in the end.”  
“So starting off we will let you see what skills we hope you develop while here training in the mansion. Not only will you be building your own skills but your ability to work on a team will be a major part of being a Young Avenger,” Fury said. “Now all of you step to this side, we will have a demonstration of how well our team works together with some Avengers showing you what they have learned. I will let Stark describe his new toy.” Fury walked over to the board members and stared at Tony. Tony gestured for the teenagers to step forward.   
“Like one-eyed Jack said, you guys need to step over here. We set up this training room with the most advanced holographic technology,” Tony said as he hit a button and a blank figure showed beside him. “These holograms are solid,” Tony said putting his hand on the figure. “They can fight back, shoot weapons, and take a hit. We will use these to train you in combat before you go into the field. Standing behind this line,” Tony showed as he walked over to the area, “will put you behind a forcefield which will protect you. You can watch all the action up close without fear of being hurt.” The recruits walked over and stood behind the line. Tony watched as Andrea and Mark stood up and walked over.   
Mark looked around at the teenagers.“Aren’t we missing a few recruits?”   
“By my count, we are missing two,” Andrea said.   
“Oh they will be arriving,” Fury began as a portal opened near Tony, Mark, and Andrea, “Well now.”  
Out from the portal, came three people. An older man and two young teenagers, one female and the other male. Tony tried to see who was coming forward, but he guessed who it was.   
“If it isn’t Strange,” Tony said.   
“Dr. Strange?” Mark asked.   
“You ask like we know so many people named Strange,” Andrea said smiling. Dr. Strange stepped forward and greeted Fury. Mark walked up and hugged Dr. Strange. Tony looked over to Andrea.   
“Old friend,” Andrea said. Tony nodded understanding.  
“Good to see you, Strange,” Mark said.   
“Same to you old friend, although... something has changed in you,” Dr. Strange said as he took a step back from Mark. “I sense a big change in you.”  
“Yeah well, losing your powers would do that to a person,” Mark said smiling.   
“I heard of the deal with the amulet from the tree of life. Sad, I was hoping to see the artifact,” Dr. Strange said.   
“Sorry, kind of needed it to bring someone back to life,” Mark said looking over at Steve.   
“So still think it did what it was supposed to I see,” Strange said raising an eyebrow.  
“What?” Mark asked.   
“We will talk later. I am afraid I cannot stay long, I brought the two new recruits with me. Pietro Maximoff and Wanda Maximoff, the twins,” Strange said gesturing to the teens. Andrea stepped forward next to Mark with Tony following.   
“Pleasure to have you two on the team,” Tony said. The two teens looked at Tony but did not change their expression. They looked at one another and then to Strange.   
“They are friends, one a very dear friend. They will train you and help you grow. I know Mark will help you grow in ways I cannot. You are welcome here,” Strange said.   
The twins still did not say anything. They both just stepped forward and walked by Mark, Andrea, and Tony to join the other teens.   
“Friendly twins, huh?” Tony said.   
“Forgive them, they have been through a lot. They will warm up to you soon. I must go, I have research to conduct, but we will talk soon,” Strange said looking at Mark. Mark looked at Strange curiously before Strange continued. “I noticed your light has dimmed but not gone out. Find me later after the demonstration.”   
“What?” Mark said again, but Strange already was making his exit. A portal opened again, and Strange left through it. Tony saw Mark standing there confused for a second before he turned to smile at Tony. “He always knows how to make an entrance.”  
“Jealous?” Andrea asked.   
“A little,” Mark admitted. Tony laughed.   
“Are you two ready for the demonstration?” Tony asked.   
“Yup,” Andrea and Mark said together.   
“A few changes in the plan, Stark,” Thaddeus said stepping forward. “We would like two senior members to do the demonstration.”  
“Senior?” Mark asked. “Raise your hand if you are over one hundred,” Mark shouted. Mark raised his hand and looked around. “Well, I don’t think it gets any more senior than that.”  
“Funny,” Thaddeus said as he turned to Fury. “We would want Captain America and Hawkeye in this demonstration. Send them in, I will run the simulation.”  
Fury looked at Tony. Tony had no idea what to do other than let the board members do what they wanted. “Here are the controls,” Tony said handing over a tablet to Thaddeus.   
“Thank you,” Thaddeus took the tablet.   
“What the hell? Are they running the show?” Mark said walking forward.   
“I have to agree, we had this all planned out. Besides who else is better at displaying teamwork other than us?” Andrea asked, and both Mark and Andrea crossed their arms waiting for an answer.   
“They do raise a good point,” Tony said looking at Thaddeus and Fury.   
“The decision is already made,” Thaddeus said as Clint and Steve walked forward. “Rogers, I suggest getting your subordinates in line, they need to know their place.”  
“Need to know our place?” Mark said looking at Thaddeus.  
“Yes, you are lower ranked than us and need to respect your commanding officer’s decisions. Now stand down,” Thaddeus glared at Mark. Tony watched as Mark stepped forward meeting Thaddeus’s stare. Tony was certain Mark was going to punch him right then and there, Andrea would lead the cheering. Steve stepped in front of Mark.   
“Mark, please,” Steve said as Mark looked at Steve. Tony watched at Mark held his glare with Steve now. Steve looked to be almost begging for Mark not to make a scene. Tony was surprised he saw Mark let out a sigh and step back.   
“You sure you want to go forward? You two are normally assigned different aspects of the mission,” Tony suggested.   
“It’s fine, we can manage. Right, Clint?” Steve asked.   
Clint just shook his head after watching what happened. He looked at Steve.“Yeah, so are we going to ignore the fact that this man just spoke that way to Mark? And the guy is still standing?”  
“What did you say?” Thaddeus asked.   
“Nothing,” Clint smiled and began to walk to the center of the training area. Tony watched as Steve followed Clint. Thaddeus looked to Gabriel, who used the tablet to put up the force field. Gabriel typed in a few more commands to the tablet.   
“Isn’t the training technology brand new?” Tony heard beside him. He turned to see Mark standing there.   
“Yeah, Andrea and I developed it only two weeks ago,” Tony said.   
“And yet, Gabriel knows how to use it seamlessly,” Mark gestured at Gabriel. Tony watched as Gabriel typed in commands to the tablet with no hesitation. Gabriel knew how to use the technology when only Tony and Andrea were the ones who could use it that well.   
“How did he…”   
“This is bad, something is up. I don’t know how, but they got a hold of your tech before today and know how to use it,” Mark said.   
“What do we do?” Tony asked.   
“Wait and react when they plan something. If I were to guess, she is the way they got the technology,” Mark said pointing at Agent Carter.   
“Sharon? No, I mean she has been glued to Steve over the last few…” Tony stopped when he remembered Steve entering the lab with her multiple times over the last week.   
“So it was her,” Mark said as Tony went silent. “Andrea and I will be on guard.” Mark walked over to Andrea. Tony looked at Steve and Clint, he didn’t know what was going to happen in there.   
“Ready to begin?” Thaddeus said over the speaker. Steve and Clint nodded as they readied their weapons. “Let the demonstration begin!”


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11  
Mark  
The demonstration began. Mark watched leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He felt a sense of dread as he tried to figure out what Thaddeus and Gabriel were planning. Mark made sure to study both Clint’s and Steve’s movements as they fought. Periodically, Mark would look over to Thaddeus and Gabriel to see if they were doing anything. All he ever saw those two do was smile the whole time.   
“Notice anything?” Andrea asked as she leaned close to whisper.   
“Nothing, but it just began. I don’t like any of this,” Mark said as he watched Steve and Clint dodge a series of projectiles. That’s when Mark caught a glimpse of something. Andrea knew Mark spotted something when his eyes went wide.   
“What do you see?” Andrea asked watching Steve and Clint.   
“Not sure…least hoping I don’t see what I think it is,” Mark said. Slowly Mark’s arms uncrossed as he studied the demonstration more. Then it happened.   
A laser projectile hit Steve in leg and Clint was sent to take cover from a blast.   
“Shit,” Mark said as he looked over at Gabriel holding the controls. “Try to hack the system now,” Mark said to Andrea as he walked over to Gabriel and Thaddeus. Nick Fury walked over as well. Fury knew something was up when he saw Mark approaching, and Mark figured he would be there to ensure he didn’t punch Gabriel and Thaddeus in the face.   
“What setting did you put this on?” Mark asked as he got up to Gabriel.   
“Highest setting, it shouldn’t be difficult for two senior members of The Avengers, unless their trainer is inefficient,” Gabriel answered.   
“Or you also put the setting to attack their weaknesses,” Mark said in anger at Gabriel.  
“We have that setting?” Fury asked.   
“Yes, a way for us to build on what our weaknesses are. And my guess is it is on the highest setting for both of them,” Mark said glaring at Gabriel.   
“And if it is?” Gabriel asked.   
“How do you expect anyone to win in there if it is true?” Mark asked.   
Fury looked over at Gabriel for an answer after Mark asked the question, but neither Gabriel or Thaddeus responded.   
“Shut the damn thing down,” Fury commanded.   
“You don’t have the authority or the ability,” Gabriel said looking at Fury.   
“Authority?” Fury said mockingly, “I am the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Who else would have more authority than me?” Fury shouted.   
“What do you mean by ability?” Mark asked.   
“They locked the system,” Andrea said stepping forward.   
“They what?” Tony said following behind her.   
“They locked the system. We can’t shut it down until the time runs out. I can hack it, but it will take too long. Steve and Clint need to survive in there until time runs out,” Andrea said.   
“They have about seven and a half minutes left,” Gabriel said showing the tablet with the screen locked down.   
“You are really willing to risk their safety for this?” Mark asked.   
“They are senior members,” Thaddeus answered for Gabriel. “They need to learn to handle it. If not, they will learn their lesson.” Mark looked up at Thaddeus. He understood what he meant by his words.   
“Not by killing them,” Mark said looking over to Clint and Steve. Mark could see Clint dodging blasts. Mark noticed the cuts all along Clint’s arm. Steve was bleeding from his leg and struggling to block the shots with his shield.   
“This is bad,” Mark said looking at Fury.   
“Stark, are you telling me there is no way for us to shut this down?” Fury shouted.   
“They locked the system like Andrea said, it will take time,” Tony answered, and then they heard a blast. They looked over and could not see where Steve and Clint were from the smoke, all Mark could see was Steve’s shield hit the forcefield and land with Steve nowhere to be seen.   
Mark turned to Andrea, “Can you hack the forcefield?”   
“Already on it,” Andrea said as she worked.   
“Alright you guys better stand back,” Mark said as he let Andrea climb on his shoulders.  
“What the hell are you two doing?” Fury asked.   
“Going in there to give them some backup. You might want to stand clear when the forcefield goes down,” Mark said as Andrea nodded with a smile. Gabriel and Thaddeus were quick to move with Fury and Tony following.   
“Plan?” Andrea asked.   
“You help Clint, I will help Steve,” Mark said.   
“You sure? They will see,” Andrea asked.  
“Yeah,” Mark said.   
“How do we get to them?” Andrea asked.   
“I got a plan, just hang on tight. Ready to lower it?” Mark asked.   
“Lowering now,” Andrea said. The forcefield quickly disappeared, and lasers shot past them. Mark ran in quickly, and Andrea worked to close the forcefield as soon as they were in. The forcefield shut as Mark ran.   
“How do we get to them? We have a lot of ground to cover with these lasers,” Andrea shouted.   
“I am going to try something,” Mark said as he ran toward Steve’s shield.   
“Great, no plan. Always works in our favor,” Andrea said sarcastically.  
“Shut it,” Mark said as he jumped on the shield and they slide on it across the room.   
“Holy shit, this worked?” Andrea said looking down in disbelief.   
“Honestly, I feel the same way about this plan,” Mark said. They zig-zagged across the room easily dodging the lasers and looking for Clint and Steve.   
“Two o’clock, I see Clint,” Andrea shouted.   
“Any sign of Steve?” Mark asked.   
“At your ten o’clock, he is behind that barricade,” Andrea said.   
“Awesome, I am dropping you off near Clint. You work on defense he will work on offense. You can block better than he can,” Mark said as he leaned forward on the shield to pick up speed. They leaned to the side to turn and go towards Clint.   
“This is your stop,” Mark said as Andrea jumped off and rolled near Clint. Right away, Andrea grabbed her batons and put up a force field to shield herself and Clint.   
“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” Clint said smiling.   
“Take out the guns, I got your back,” Andrea said. “And give Mark some support, he is going to help Steve.”  
“On it,” Clint said as he readied his bow.  
Mark slide from side to side much faster as he approached Steve. He could see Steve holding his leg tightly and a puddle of blood near him. Mark could also see a simulated warrior coming near Steve.   
Steve turned to look up at the warrior ready to strike him down. Steve held up his arms in defense as the warrior was about to swing his sword and then Mark crashed into the simulated warrior. Steve looked up in disbelief.   
“How did you…” Steve began.   
“No time, We need to fight. We have about six minutes until this demonstration is over,” Mark said helping Steve up and handing him his shield.   
“Thanks,” Steve said smiling at Mark. Mark formed his sword in his hand and blocked a laser from hitting Steve.   
“Focus, we have to survive this,” Mark said taking a stance near Steve. Mark already knew what Steve was feeling. It began to feel like old times to them. The truth was they always fought the best when paired together and they were hoping to hide it, but now they couldn’t. Mark blocked a few more laser blasts, and Steve threw his shield to ricochet off of two guns before returning to him. Mark ran forward toward the warriors and jumped only for two warriors to be hit by Steve’s shield before Mark came down to finish the rest. They were in perfect synch fighting. It’s like nothing changed between them even though they spent the last few days apart.   
With Andrea helping Clint and Mark helping Steve, the rest of the fight was easy. Mark could see Steve staring at him during the demonstration, not paying attention. Mark threw a dagger which flew past Steve and hit a simulated warrior behind him.   
“I won’t be around to have you back all the time,” Mark said with a smile. Mark could see Steve nod his head, Mark was telling him to focus and not give things away.   
Soon a sound alarmed and the forcefield went down. The demonstration was over. Mark let out a sigh of relief. He was glad it was finally done. Mark looked over at Steve who was on the ground holding his leg trying to treat his wound. Mark walked over to Steve and offered his hand to help him up.   
“You never were good at defending from attacks at your legs,” Mark said as Steve took his hand.   
“I know, you kept telling me in training. I guess I should listen more,” Steve said as Mark held Steve up as they walked. Mark could see Andrea helping Clint to the side as well, they were lucky to get to them before more damage could be done.   
“There are many things you don’t listen to me about,” Mark said as a jab at Steve. Steve smiled and knew what Mark meant. Steve was focused on having Mark near him and not the fight during that demonstration.   
Mark let Steve down slowly once they got out of the arena.   
“Can anyone grab a first aid kit,” Mark asked. And as soon as his words finished a person flashed in front of him holding one. It was Pietro Maximoff, one of the twins Dr. Strange brought for training. Mark grabbed the kit and looked curiously at Pietro.  
“Super speed?” Mark asked. Pietro just nodded as he stepped back from Mark.   
“Awesome,” Mark said as he put the kit down and opened it.   
“I can help,” Mark heard as he looked up to see the other twin stepping forward. The timid Wanda was much different than her brother, petite in size but at least she spoke.   
“Sure,” Mark said as he took out some gauze and antibacterial wipes. Mark closed the kit and tossed it to Andrea so she could help Clint. Natasha walked over to help Andrea and to scold Clint for doing such a bad job.  
Mark wiped the wound and saw Steve wince in pain. Mark hated seeing Steve in pain, but he couldn’t comfort him. Not with Thaddeus and Gabriel here. Mark began to wrap Steve’s leg in the gauze to help stop the bleeding. Steve’s super soldier serum would help speed up the healing, but this will help his loss of blood. Wanda grabbed medical tap and wrapped the gauze with it. Wanda then applied pressure to the wound.  
“Well how was that for a first demonstration,” Mark heard Thaddeus shout from the side. “Who will be next?”  
“No one!” Mark shouted as he stood up. “No one else is going in there with you holding the controls.”  
Mark felt someone grab his leg and turned to see Steve holding him back. Mark easily pulled his leg away letting Steve know he shouldn’t weigh in on this conversation.   
“But we must,” Thaddeus said. “The individuals who will lead the other fractions of the Avengers are arriving, we need to show them a demonstration of what is to come.”  
And as if on cue, the other leaders came walking into the training room. Sam Wilson, Rhodey aka War Machine, and Joseph Chapman. Mark knew Thaddeus and Gabriel would not let allow them to stop the demonstration. Mark walked forward toward Thaddeus and Gabriel.   
“If anyone is going in there, it is me. Pick whatever settings you want, but I will give you 10 minutes,” Mark said holding back his anger.   
Gabriel looked at Thaddeus for an answer. Mark could see a smile form on Thaddeus's face.   
“We are fine with that,” Thaddeus said.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
Steve  
Steve looked up at Mark as he walked in from changing in the locker room. He wore a tight black shirt and the standard SHIELD uniform pants and boots. Steve continued to watch and saw Mark speaking to Thaddeus and Gabriel. Steve had a very bad feeling about the whole thing especially after what he went through.   
“He is going in the arena,” Steve heard from Wanda. Steve turned to the teenager treating his wound.   
“If he does, he will be fine. Out of everyone, he is the most likely to survive it,” Steve said smiling.   
“He shouldn’t go in,” Wanda said looking at Mark. Steve followed her gaze but could not understand what she meant. Steve watched as Mark walked over to Andrea. He said a few words with her and Steve could tell Andrea was arguing against Mark going back in there. Steve wanted to side with her, but he did not know if Mark would listen to anything he would say. Steve has seen that look in Mark’s eyes many times. When Mark was set on doing something, there was no stopping him.   
“What did you do to yourself?” Steve heard. Steve looked up to see Sam standing there shaking his head.   
Steve laughed as he looked down at his injuries, “Got a little busted up during a demonstration.” Steve slowly stood up with the help of both Sam and Wanda.   
“And who saved you from this?” Sam asked looking down at Steve’s wound.   
“What makes you think someone saved me?” Steve asked. Sam looked over at the teenager.   
“Tell me, was it Mark who saved him?” Sam asked Wanda.   
Wanda looked over to Mark, “Do you mean him?” Wanda asked.   
“I guess that answers my question,” Sam said smiling to mock Steve.   
Steve punched Sam to let him know he was not only right but to shut up.  
Steve watched as Mark left Andrea and walked to the center of the arena. Steve was expecting Andrea to be angry after the conversation with Mark, but she was smiling. Steve knew they had something planned and he was right, Not even Andrea could stop Mark.   
“Is he as good as you say he is?” Wanda asked.   
“I haven’t seen him in action, so I guess we will find out,” Sam said to Wanda.   
“He will put on a show for sure,” Steve heard as he turned to see someone he didn’t know. The man looked over at Steve,“I’m Joseph Chapman, codename Union Jack,” Joseph said putting out his hand. Steve shook his hand.   
“What do you mean he will put on a show?” Sam asked.   
“I saw him fight in London. He put Captain Britain over there in his place. He is one hell of a fighter,” Joseph said.   
“He sure is,” Steve said as they turned to see Mark standing in the center. The forcefield went up, and soon Mark would be put through the same hell they went through before.   
“I do have a question, though,” Joseph asked.   
Steve turned to look at Joseph.   
“What happened to the ring he was wearing? I notice no more engagement ring? Did it end?” Joseph asked.   
Steve felt the blood rush to his head. “Why do you ask?”   
“When he was in London, he said he has someone very special here in the States. He also said no one had a chance with him because of it. Now that the ring is gone, I am wondering if he is available,” Joseph explained.   
Steve felt his face on fire. He knew he couldn’t hide how he felt about the whole situation. “If he is available, I don’t think you are his type,” Steve said trying to deter Joseph from going after Mark.   
“I don’t know, mate,” Joseph responded. “He seems like a guy who doesn’t want that all-American look. You know apple pie and all that.”  
Steve felt himself huff as he folded his arms. Steve could hear Sam laugh.   
“You know you are acting like a kid who lost his toy. You need to calm down if you don’t want Thaddeus and Gabriel to catch on,” Sam whispered.   
Steve’s face went soft as he realized the truth in Sam’s words. Steve needed to manage his emotions so the board members wouldn’t know.   
The countdown began, and the simulation began. The whole crowd watched as the lights went out when the sound went off. Steve looked around to see what was going on. The lights began to flicker like in a nightclub. Steve turned to see the green glow in Andrea’s eyes as she worked her hacking magic. Steve smiled when he could see Tony and Fury both shaking their heads in disbelief. Mark was going to give a demonstration but in his own way with Andrea’s help.   
Music began to play as the lights shined on the center of the arena. Steve watched as Mark dodged the lasers to the beat of the song. The music picked up as Mark began to fight the simulated warriors. Mark blocked the lasers with his swords knocking some of the shots back at the guns, taking them out. Mark was moving quickly around the arena taking out some of the simulated warriors with his swords while throwing his daggers at more guns. Mark did all this to the rhythm of the song, and it all flowed together.   
“He moves so fast. You can tell he plans his moves far ahead in advance,” Joseph said.   
“You’re wrong,” Wanda said. Steve turned to Wanda who was standing next to him.   
“You can tell?” Steve asked.   
Wanda nodded while keeping her eyes on Mark.   
“What do you mean she can tell?” Joseph asked.   
“I have to admit I am curious as well,” Sam said.   
Steve looked back at Mark as he moved around the arena. Mark would cut down one warrior and jump back avoiding another. He would then throw a dagger to take out a gun while blocking another laser in a smooth motion.   
“He doesn’t plan, it's not his style,” Steve answered.   
Joseph and Sam looked confused as they watched Mark.   
“He moves fluidly, like water. He watches his opponents and reacts to them while moving forward in his offense. He knows when to step back to defend and when to find the opening in the weakness of his opponent. He is an old warrior,” Wanda said.   
“He is an old warrior,” Steve agreed.  
Steve watched Mark more. He remembered how he would know how to react to Mark’s actions when they fought side by side. Mark wouldn’t need to say anything to Steve, they would just know what to do, and no one would be able to stand against them. It was a connection they shared which was hard to deny.   
“He only has a minute left, he can make it through,” Wanda said.   
Steve turned to look at Wanda. Her words snapped him out of his thoughts since it was odd she was commenting on how Mark would survive. The music picked up as Mark sped up his attacks.   
“Of course he will make it, don’t you see how well he is doing?” Steve asked.   
“You didn’t notice, did you?” Wanda asked turning to Steve. Steve looked confused at Wanda. “I guess you weren’t as attuned to Mark as you thought while you fought.”  
Steve was more confused than ever when Wanda said this. What could she mean? Steve and Mark fought completely in sync. Steve watched Mark carefully for the last minute. Mark was moving around the field like he normally did. Steve still watched closely. Mark dodged another laser blast, sliding back and this was when Steve realized what he thought Wanda meant.   
“He is getting tired,” Steve said. Wanda shook her head. Steve was worried Mark wouldn’t make it through. But before Steve could feel his worries grow, the alarm sounded. The demonstration was over.   
“That was insane,” Sam said as they heard a roar of cheers from the teenagers.  
“And he is training these kids, remember,” Joseph said over the noise.  
“I guess the future heroes will be put through some interesting training techniques. I’m a bit jealous I won’t be able to be trained by him,” Sam commented.   
Steve smiled at the compliments for Mark and watched as Mark walked off out of the training room. Steve moved as fast as he could to follow Mark, limping along the way.   
“Make sure he treats it,” Wanda shouted at Steve as he walked away. Steve was confused by her words, he thought maybe she meant his wound which felt like it was doing better since the bleeding stopped.   
Steve walked into the locker room and saw Mark there sitting trying to catch his breath. Mark took a drink of water but didn’t turn to look at Steve. Steve walked over to Mark and slipped on something on the floor. When Steve looked down, he saw a red smear on the ground.   
“Damn,” Steve said, prompting Mark to look up. Mark then looked down at the red smear and looked away, not saying a word to Steve.   
Steve examined his wound and wrappings. He noticed nothing wrong, and it stopped bleeding. Steve had stared at the red smear on the ground before he realized what it was. Steve slowly raised his head “This is your blood.”  
Mark didn’t say anything, he just walked over to grab the first aid kit and opened it. Steve walked over and reached for Mark’s arm.   
“Why didn’t you say anything…” Steve began, but Mark moved away.  
“Steve you shouldn’t be in here with me. We had a plan remember? This might look suspicious to Thaddeus and Gabriel.”  
Steve was stunned by Mark’s coldness. He didn’t know Mark would go to these lengths in their plan. “You’re hurt though…”  
“I can treat it,” Mark said looking up at Steve.   
Steve was still stunned by the whole situation. “When did you get hurt during that demonstration? I didn’t see you get hit.”   
Mark looked up at Steve shocked by the question. Steve didn’t know how to respond to Mark’s reaction.   
“I didn’t get hurt in that demonstration,” Mark finally said. Steve paused for a while then it suddenly came to him. “You got hit while defending me, didn’t you?” Steve said, and Mark didn’t respond. “And I didn’t even notice,” Steve said holding his head in shame. He couldn’t even recall when it could have happened. Steve lifted his head up.  
“I can help you, let me dress it,” Steve said.   
“I got this,” Mark said coldly to Steve as Mark lifted his shirt to reveal the where the laser shot him on his arm. Mark put a piece of gauze on the wound and held it there until the blood would keep it in place. Then he slowly wrapped it on his own.   
“You can’t be doing stuff like this. Thaddeus and Gabriel put you through this because you have a target on your back. They will do what they can to put you in your place,” Steve said.   
“I don’t mind a target on my back, Steve…” Mark said smiling, and it shocked Steve. Steve stood there in silence as he watched Mark dress his wound.   
“I should have noticed it, why didn’t you say anything?” Steve asked.   
“Because you would worry Steve… and I probably shouldn’t have blocked it. Sorry for the coldness, I am mad at myself for almost going against our plan by what I did,” Mark said looking up at Steve. Steve saw worry in Mark’s eyes. “I made you worry. If you reacted like this out there…then they would have known. Seeing what they are doing, I can’t have you in danger again.” Steve noticed Mark looking down at Steve’s leg. “You were right, they are dangerous. I can handle what they throw at me. I… I don’t want you hurt. And based on today’s exercise we know I can’t control myself if you are about to get hurt.”  
Steve sighed as he stepped forward and Mark didn’t back away this time. Steve was able to gently touch Mark’s arm and see the wound. “You are doing it again,” Steve said.   
“Doing what?” Mark asked.   
“Being my protector. I know we said this would be the plan but it sucks, Mark. Thanks to all of this I feel like I am not with you anymore. You’re right, I would have been worried and reacted. Sam noticed me getting angry earlier and needed to help me manage my emotions. I didn’t know this would be so difficult. I miss being able to be just me around you,” Steve said.   
“Steve, I am proud to be close to you, to have what we have. I don’t think you even know what it means to me to have you in my life. I understand why this is scary for you and you have reason to fear what they will do. I was already on their bad side, they would target me regardless. I will put them in their place, I just don’t want you hurt. We need to do this to keep you safe,” Mark said.   
Steve let out a smile as he leaned in to kiss Mark on the lips. Mark didn’t back away from Steve, he let him kiss him. “I still miss you though. The bed is lonely without you.”   
Mark let out a small laugh.  
“What is it,” Steve said again.   
“You sure you aren’t the lonely one?” Mark asked. “Cause at night I am.”  
Steve felt his smile grow as he looked at Mark. “This is going to be tough on us.”  
“And it’s only been a few days.” Mark let out a sigh and thought for a moment. “Keep September 23rd free.”   
Steve looked confused as he looked into Mark’s eyes. “What about September 23rd?” Steve asked.   
“That’s the date, for our date. I want this be a little easier on you, and it is an important date,” Mark said as he grabbed his shirt and put it back on.   
“It's only a week and a few days away,” Steve said.   
“I know, you can wait that long can’t you?” Mark asked with a smile. When Mark smiled at him, Steve felt he could make it. He wanted to be able to have Mark back in his room, but he would settle for a date night.   
“Why September 23rd? What’s so special about that day?” Steve asked.   
“No one knows, other than me. And on that day you will find out. You can do all the research you want, but not even Andrea or Natasha know why it is a big deal to me,” Mark said as he took a drink of water.   
Mark walked past Steve, “Come on, we need to head out. We are about to select who we mentor.”  
Steve reached to hug Mark, Mark grabbed Steve’s hand to stop him. “What?” Steve asked.   
“Steve, it is really hard for me to not want to be close to you all the time, but we need to learn to manage it. Thaddeus and Gabriel are watching, and we can’t slip up.”  
“I miss you, Mark,” Steve finally said. Steve felt Mark gently rubbing Steve’s hand with his own.   
“I miss you too Steve,” Mark said as he let go. And Mark left the locker room.   
“September 23rd,” Steve said to himself. “I handle this until then,” Steve smiled to himself. “Least I hope I can.” Steve held his head up as he walked out of the locker room.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13  
Andrea  
Andrea could only laugh after being scolded by Fury. She couldn’t help it, Nick Fury yelling about dance music and techno in the training room was the last thing ever she thought he would yell at her about. She could not wait to see how he was going to yell at Mark for the same thing.   
Andrea felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over to see Tony smiling at her.   
“You two just had to do it your way,” Tony said.   
“You expect less from us?” Andrea asked.   
Tony laughed, “No, I don’t. I should have expected you two to do something like that. Honestly, I am surprised you two didn’t find a way to hurt Thaddeus and Gabriel. A house music training session was the last thing on my mind.”  
“Don’t think we didn’t try to find a way,” Andrea said. “We just figured we didn’t need the military hunting us down for murder.”  
Tony laughed again but then his smile faded. “Wait you are serious, you were thinking that?”   
“I wasn’t,” Andrea said as she looked over to Mark who walked out of the locker room. “I had to yell at him for him to gain his senses.”  
Tony looked at Mark as he stood next to Andrea leaning against the wall.   
“How is your arm,” Andrea asked. Mark rubbed his arm after she asked the question.   
“I will live. It's dressed, and I think the bleeding stopped,” Mark said without looking at her.   
“It didn’t look like a bad hit, was it deep?” Andrea asked.   
“No, I don’t think it was. Least you noticed I got hit,” Mark said.   
“Wait,” Andrea paused turning to face Mark. Mark looked up at Andrea. “Who didn’t notice?”   
“That was kind of a hard one to miss, even the kids saw it,” Tony said.   
Mark didn’t answer the question. Andrea shook his arm, “Who didn’t notice?” Andrea asked again. Mark just looked to the side, and Andrea turned her head to follow his stare. “You’re joking, right?” Andrea asked harshly. Mark didn’t answer which gave Andrea all the information she needed.   
Andrea walked over to Steve. Andrea didn’t say anything as he stopped and looked up, she just kicked him in the shin.   
“Ow, did you have to hit my injured leg?” Steve said.   
“Shut up you idiot,” Andrea said as Steve rubbed his shin. “How could you not notice he was hit?” Andrea asked.   
Steve looked around as people were looking over. “This might not be the best time to talk about this,” Steve said.   
“Fine,” Andrea said. She felt everyone’s eyes looking at them. “It's time we decide who we are mentoring anyway.” Andrea walked back over to stand near Mark. She folded her arms and glared at Steve who looked like a kicked dog walking over to stand near Sam.   
“Did you need to do that?” Mark asked. Andrea turned to look at Mark.   
“Yes!” She answered. “How else will he learn he needs to get his head out of his ass.”  
“He will,” Mark said still looking down. Andrea could see a smile creep on Mark’s face. She tilted her head in confusion. “What happened in that locker room?” Andrea asked.   
“Hush we need to pick mentors soon,” Mark said looking up smiling.   
Andrea narrowed her eyes glaring at Mark.   
“I don’t think you are going to get that information right now,” Tony said.  
“I beg to differ,” Andrea responded to Tony. Tony only laughed at her response. He knew if Andrea wanted to find out something she would. Tony kissed Andrea on the cheek as he stepped forward to take his place next to Fury.   
“So that’s our demonstration of the training room and our hopes of what level we can get you, Young Avengers, at. At this time, we need you to decide who you want your mentor to be. We only have a select number of slots for each Avenger, so we will be making a selection as well. We want to pick the best match for each one of you,” Tony announced.   
“You have until the end of today to decide on who you want to have as your mentor. We will let you all chat with everyone. Stark will provide lunch downstairs,” Fury said as Tony looked at him. Fury smiled. “Stark will have it catered for all. You have until 5 pm to decide. Make your selections and submit them to me. The same goes for the Avengers on the team,” Fury finished.   
Andrea could hear all the students begin talking and walking over to all of the Avengers.   
“Jesus,” Andrea thought when she saw the large crowd begin to walk toward her. She did not know the skills she had on display would have caused so much commotion. Andrea just looked around at them walking forward. Then she felt someone grab her arm and pull her away. Andrea couldn’t see who it was, but she just followed. She was pulled into the hallway and was now walking down the hall with the person.   
“Thanks…um stranger grabbing a married woman,” Andrea said.   
“No worries, mate, and no worries about that either, you’re not my type,” The man said.   
“Well, why the hell not?” Andrea asked.   
“You are a woman for one,” The man said.   
“That’s a fair point,” Andrea responded. “Who are you by the way?”   
“Joseph Chapman, but you can call me Joey. The codename is Union Jack,” Joesph said.   
“So why did ya save me from the hoard of teenagers?” Andrea asked.   
“You looked like you needed saving, and thought we could chat since you look to be close to Mark,” Joseph said.   
Andrea stopped walking, and Joseph turned around to look at her. “No,” was Andrea's response.   
“Pardon?” Joseph said.   
“I will not help you get information about Mark,” Andrea clarified.   
Andrea could see some disappointment on Joseph’s face. “Well, why so hesitant about giving me information? Unless you think, I could have a chance with him.”  
“I never said that,” Andrea said in a firm voice.   
“Then this shouldn’t be a worry. Why not tell me about him?” Joseph said.   
Andrea sighed,” Thanks for saving me, but I don’t know too much about his past, and I am sure as hell not going to tell you anything else.”  
Joseph shrugged his shoulders, “Well it was worth a shot. You seemed to know him the best in there. Good Ol’ Captain America wouldn’t tell me anything.”  
“No,” Andrea said. “I wouldn’t think Steve would tell you about Mark.”  
“Odd, though, from the way Captain America acted, I would have guessed they were close. But the kids told me he was not really paying attention to Mark when he got hit by the laser. It’s confusing,” Joseph said.   
Andrea froze in her mind. She wondered if this was some way Joseph was trying to get some information out of her. She needed to play this smart, he was trained as a spy after all so he would know how to get information without the other person knowing. But she was an assassin and could see through all of this.   
“I’m not sure what that was about. Steve was injured and focused on not getting hurt further, he could have been distracted. He did get hit pretty bad out there,” Andrea answered.   
Andrea could see in Joseph’s eyes she caught onto him. “Perhaps that was the case. Who knows,” Joseph said.   
“Hey,” Andrea heard from behind her. She worried she would turn to see a horde of teenagers ready to ask questions. She turned to see Steve standing there.   
“Have you seen Mark? He had disappeared before we said the kids could ask questions. He has a long line of people wanting to meet him,” Steve said.   
“No haven’t seen him, and kind of wish I was with him. I think a giant crowd of teenagers can overwhelm anyone,” Andrea said. Andrea could see some sense of defeat in Steve’s eyes.   
“I can help you look for him,” Joseph volunteered. “I was hoping to chat with him and catch-up since I last saw him in London.”  
Andrea could now see the look of defeat turn into a rage on Steve’s face. “I’m good, I will find him on my own,” Steve answered.   
“Come’on mate, it would be good for me to get to know you as well. After all, you are training all the new leaders for each new division,” Joseph said. Andrea could see Joseph was trying to figure out a way to get information from Steve. She wouldn’t budge on the topic, and she knew Steve was too stubborn to give anything up.   
“I can help you find him,” Andrea said to Steve. Andrea turned to Joseph, “Thanks for the help back there but its just going to be Steve and I looking for Mark.”  
“No problem, I can take a hint. All I have to say is I hope Tony won’t be jealous,” Joseph said as he walked away. Andrea was confused, but then it hit here as she looked at Steve. Steve didn’t tell everyone he and Mark were engaged. Since Steve didn’t tell anyone, everyone assumed he was straight. Andrea could feel some anger building up, but it slowly backed down when she saw the expression on Steve’s face.   
“You didn’t notice he took a laser shot in the arm for you at all, huh?” Andrea asked.   
Steve shook his head, and Andrea could see Steve beating himself up for it. “I am a horrible person. How can I expect to show him how much he means to me if I didn’t even notice he was hit?” Steve asked.   
Andrea felt sympathy for Steve, he was really trying to make up for it all. “Well least it told you one thing,” Andrea said. Steve looked up at her. “What?”   
“He still cares, he didn’t want you to worry, so he went to the locker room to dress his wound. He took the hit and acted like it never happened. He still cares, Steve. He knew you would worry,” Andrea explained.   
“I am worried. I couldn’t see how deep the wound was. I wanted to check on him especially since he did another training exercise right after being injured. I just don’t want something bad to happen to him,” Steve said.   
“Well let’s see if we can find him. I don’t know if we will, he snuck off somewhere before anyone could even talk to him. He won’t be easy to find,” Andrea said.   
“But you should know where he is hiding, you know him best,” Steve said.   
“And you were supposed to marry him remember. You should know where he would go as much as I would. But since we are walking blindly around this mansion I would say we have no clue where he would be,” Andrea replied.   
“Well, any idea where to start?” Steve asked.   
“I would say the kitchen or his room. Those are the first stops we should make anyway,” Andrea suggested.   
“Good idea,” Steve replied. Steve and Andrea walked down the stairs to go check in the kitchen first.   
“Hey Andrea,” Steve said as Andrea looked over at him. “Does the date September 23rd mean anything to Mark?”   
Andrea thought for a long moment. The date was odd to ask about. She knew it had nothing to do with them joining the Avengers or even when she met Mark. “Does it have to do with David passing all those years ago?” Andrea asked.   
“No, I remember the month on the tombstone didn’t say September. I was just curious if you would know, Mark said you wouldn’t,” Steve said.   
“So he is sharing secrets with you no one else knows, good,” Andrea said as they stepped into the kitchen. “No sign of him.”  
“Yeah, he is. It is only a few words but…” Steve began.   
“But he isn’t shutting you out completely. He does that. It means he can’t help but want to talk to you right now. So don’t push too hard,” Andrea said as she led the way to Mark’s room. It was weird he was using Thor’s old room, and they weren’t walking to Steve’s and his room. Andrea was also curious about Steve’s question earlier.   
“Why did you ask about September 23rd?” Andrea asked.   
Steve was looking down as he followed Andrea. She waited for his answer. “He said it was an important day for him. He asked me to meet him on that day, for my second chance. I don’t know why he picked that day in particular so I thought you might know,” Steve asked.   
“Some secrets I don’t even know, sadly,” Andrea said with a sigh. “But again good news he wants to meet you out. I would make it a point to have that day cleared for no mistakes at all if you want this to work.”   
“I know, I just wish I knew more about it,” Steve said.   
“He will tell you. And if he knows no one else knows about that day, he is trusting you with some information. This is working out better than I hoped,” Andrea said.   
“It is?” Steve asked.   
“Yeah, sorry to say but I thought Mark might shut you out forever after what you did. He can’t. For some reason, he just can’t which is good for you but don’t abuse that power,” Andrea explained. Steve couldn’t help but smile at her words.   
“Really?” Steve asked. Andrea grabbed Steve’s arm and squeezed it, “Really” she replied.   
They made it to the room, but they had no luck there either.   
“I have no clue where he would have escaped to,” Andrea said.   
“Well, he needs to show up for the kids to pick mentors. Maybe we should go there and wait,” Steve said.   
“Do we have to?” Andrea asked. Steve folded his arms in protest to her question. “I just don’t want to be bombarded by so many questions from the gremlins,” Andrea said.   
“Well you are the one who had to show off by saving Clint and me,” Steve said as he pushed Andrea out of the room.   
“Not my fault you both needed saving,” Andrea snapped back, but she gave in and walked to the training hall. “Least we can get some food that Tony was forced to cater for us,” Andrea said jokingly.   
“That should have been our first place to look for Mark,” Steve said.   
“True,” Andrea agreed. They both walked up the stairs, Andrea dreading what awaited her from the teenagers.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14  
Tony  
Tony looked at the choices each mentor, and Young Avenger made as they handed in their sheets. “This looks like an easy way to match everyone up,” Tony said as he noticed each mentor and Young Avenger had similar picks. “Who are we missing?”   
Fury looked at the list, “Looks like Mark still hasn’t handed his in and I have the last one from the kids right here,” Fury said handing it to Tony.  
Tony took the paper and noticed only one name was written on it. “Are you serious? This kid only picked one person? What if Mark doesn’t pick her?” Tony asked.   
Fury didn’t answer he just walked away leaving Tony with his answer of figure it out. Tony sighed. “Well, I guess it is time to make the announcement.”  
The assignments went well, in that no one complained. The match-up worked for everyone. Clint was assigned to Captain Britain and Quick Silver. Natasha took Tigra and She-hulk under her wing. Andrea had Wasp (Hank Prym’s daughter) and Ms. Marvel, they all squeaked when the announcement was made assuring the choice was a good one. Tony would be mentoring Peter Parker which he knew would happen before any of this began. Tony only took one mentor since he knew he would have to focus on the leaders as well, helping with technology and equipment. All members were assigned but one. Scarlet Witch stood there uneasy looking around as everyone was talking to their mentors. Her brother, Pietro, walked over to her to comfort her. Then Tony heard the door open, and Mark walked in glaring at Thaddeus and Gabriel standing in the corner. Tony wondered if in the time Mark was gone they spoke to him. It looked more Mark was cautious and seeing what they had planned. Mark walked over to Tony.   
“Everyone is matched up?” Mark asked.   
“Not everyone, we have one left. Where is your list?” Tony asked.   
“Don’t need one, I already know she only put down my name,” Mark said. Tony was confused. How could Mark have known this? Mark wasn’t in the room when they got the lists. Tony needed to investigate this later but for now…  
“And the last pairing is Creed with Scarlet Witch,” Tony shouted in the crowd. Wanda looked up, and she smiled for the first time since she arrived. She walked over to Mark and looked up at him.   
“You sure this is what you want?” Mark asked Wanda. Tony got more concerned than ever now. What did he mean by this question? Wanda just nodded her head to answer Mark.   
“Alright, well I guess we will begin tomorrow. There is a preliminary training for all the Young Avengers tomorrow to see where your skills are at and what we need to focus on. Each mentor will be able to focus more on their best skills in the training to come, but we want all of you to build strength, accuracy, tactic, and teamwork,” Mark said loud enough for everyone to hear. Tony was a little annoyed Mark was taking his thunder.   
“Not only that but there will be team building exercises in the future. All members of the Avengers will be required to participate,” Fury announced.  
“All members?” Tony asked. Fury looked over at Thaddeus and Gabriel.   
“Yes, Stark, all members,” hinting it was not his choice in the matter. Tony held back his annoyance. He knew what being on the bad side of Gabriel and Thaddeus could do, he didn’t mind pissing off Fury, but he didn’t want those two to put him or Andrea through what Clint and Steve went through.   
“Well, there you have it. Take the rest of the day to get to know your mentor and to settle into the dorms. We will meet tomorrow to begin analyzing your skills,” Tony shouted.   
“Why don’t you go settle into the dorm first, we will meet later. My guess is Tony has a lot of questions to ask me,” Mark said to Wanda. Wanda just nodded and slowly walked over to her brother. They both said bye to Clint and walked out of the room.   
“So what was that about?” Tony asked.   
“Not here, your lab, five minutes,” Mark said walking away.   
“Why not now?” Tony asked.   
“I need to change my bandages first that’s why” Mark said walking to the locker room.   
“Makes sense,” Tony said as he gathered his things and walked to the stairs. Peter Parker cut him off from his escape.   
“Mr. Stark, when will I be able to see your lab and begin working on everything we spoke about?” Peter asked.   
“In time, kid. We have plenty of time for all of that,” Tony answered.   
“Well, can I see your lab?” Peter asked. Tony looked over at Peter who was socially awkward to begin with and was using the lab as a way to escape the crowd of people. “Not yet, go mingle with your new friends. Talk to them, maybe even talk to some of the cute girls. Andrea will help you out if you get stuck,” Tony said.   
“But Mr. Stark,” Peter began.   
“Tony, call me Tony. I don’t need anyone making me sound like I am my father. And no, go mingle. You need to learn to talk to girls if you are going to have me as a mentor,” Tony said.   
“Is that so?” Tony heard from behind him. He saw Andrea standing there with her arms folded and Tony could tell he already made a mistake.   
“Well he needs to build his confidence,” Tony defended.   
“Yes, but he doesn’t need to be a playboy like someone was many moons ago,” Andrea snapped back.   
“You will never let me live that down will you?” Tony said annoyed.   
“Nope,” Andrea said grabbing Peter by the hand. “But Tony is right, you need to meet everyone at least. Let me introduce you.”   
Tony could see Peter flush red when Andrea grabbed his hand. They both walked away with Peter still staring at Tony to save him. “Poor kid, he will be eaten alive with how kind he is,” Tony said to himself.   
Tony walked into his lab and put down his stuff. He went to make a cup of coffee to help him energize for the rest of the day. It was the first night with all the teenagers here, it was going to be hell.  
“Sir, Master Mark is coming down the stairs,” Jarvis announced.   
“Thank you, Jarvis. And make sure you introduce yourself to the kids, don’t let them abuse you though. I don’t need them frying your circuits with all of their demands,” Tony said.   
“Of course, sir,” Jarvis replied.   
Mark walked down the stairs rubbing his shoulder.   
“Was it a bad hit?” Tony asked.   
“Not too bad, I just need to change the dressings to make sure it stays clean,” Mark said walking over to Tony’s desk.   
“And he didn’t even know you did that?” Tony asked.   
Mark fell silent as he sat down. Tony knew the answer already before asking the question.   
“Listen, he is scared and dumb right now. I mean Cap is always dumb, but he never is scared. He doesn’t want to lose you, and he doesn’t know what Thaddeus and Gabriel have planned,” Tony said.   
“I know, I’m not holding it against him, but he is beating himself up for it,” Mark said.   
“Well he will do that,” Tony said taking a drink from his mug. “Anything on how that will be solved?” Tony asked.   
“I set up a date. Don’t know what will happen but we will see,” Mark asked.   
“September 23rd?” Tony asked.   
“Yup, he won’t think to ask you what that day means though. He will ask Natasha and Andrea for sure. Neither one of them know we did the tests to find out,” Mark said.   
“Good old carbon dating with Stark advanced technologies. It will work out though,” Tony said.   
“It all depends on him and how he reacts to things,” Mark said staring off looking at the screens lit up on the other side of the room.   
“Speaking of reactions, what the hell was with you since the demonstration. You disappeared and come back at the end of the announcement to know who picked you as a mentor? Does this have to do with Thaddeus and Gabriel?” Tony asked.   
“Part of it does, the other part of it involves Doctor Strange,” Mark said.   
“What does he have to do with it?” Tony asked.   
“He is the one who asked me to mentor Wanda Maximoff,” Mark said.   
“Okay, why her and not her brother?” Tony asked.   
“Her brother will do well with Clint. He can teach Pietro a lot actually. Strange asked me to take Wanda as a mentor because I was the only reason she would join,” Mark said.   
“Well now we get to the meat of it,” Tony said leaning in.   
Mark sighed confirming what Tony meant. “Wanda was experimented on with remnants of a reality stone, least that is what the good doctor told me. Not sure the full details of it, but he let me know she read up on a few of his old books while he watched over her and her brother.”  
“Old books?” Tony asked  
“The blade of the forest… tells the legend of the young boy with incredible powers whom people feared. Wanda related to the character in the book. She didn’t know Strange knew the person from her book.”  
“Shit,” Tony said as he leaned back shocked by the news. “So that little girl doesn’t know how to control her powers? And she is just as strong as you?”   
“Her code name is Scarlet Witch. Strange Told me she can bend reality if she focuses her power. Almost like his but her power is more unstable and needs refining. He tried to teach her, but she kept getting frustrated with him, and Strange got frustrated with her. He asked me to pick up where he left off basically.”  
“Makes sense,” Tony said taking another sip of his coffee. “And the part of your light being dim?”  
“You heard that?” Mark asked stunned.   
“We all did sadly. I wish he didn’t say it in front of those two goons.”  
Mark nodded agreeing with Tony. “He didn’t explain what he meant by that just that when I find out what he meant I should find him. He would explain it all. In the meantime, he did ask me to tell you to be careful.”  
“Be careful?” Tony asked.   
“He said experimenting on an artifact from Asgard can be dangerous, especially the gem in it,” Mark said smiling.   
“I figured he would have picked up on that,” Tony said as he got up and walked over to the side of the lab. He pulled up his keyboard and hit a few keys to see a secret door open in the table. Mark walked over and looked at it.   
“What is that?” Mark asked.   
“I’m surprised you don’t remember it. Still some memories lost?” Tony replied. Mark looked at the item longer.   
“Its Loki’s staff isn’t it?” Mark asked Tony just nodded.   
“The gem in it is powerful, trying to figure out the best way to use it.”  
“Will this kill us if it explodes? You have a habit of doing that.”  
“I will have you know…” Tony paused and looked over at the wall with a number on it, “we have been accident-free for six days.”  
“A record for Tony Stark,” Mark said mocking Tony.   
Tony walked over and stood near Mark for a moment before he asked the question burning in his mind. “What did Fury tell you?”  
“A lot actually. I know everyone is upset with Steve about his decision, but honestly… he may have made the right call,” Mark said without making eye contact with Tony.   
“That is going to be a tough sell unless it was something…bad.”  
Mark took in a deep breath, “They are using my behavior over the last few years against Fury. Not only that, Fury told me it is a topic coming up in legislatures, but you know that part already.”  
Tony was surprised Mark knew. “Yeah, I have been having a few people keep tabs on the political side of things. I knew you came up a lot, but Fury had it handled.”  
“Not lately. Seems my memory loss showed people how dangerous I could be. It sparked talk of whether this could happen to other Avengers. Since I am the main reference, it put Thaddeus and Gabriel on edge that Steve is around me so much. Let alone they would acknowledge our relationship. To them, I would be a liability they needed to get rid of. It might not be the fact Steve is gay which bothers them, it might be me alone.”  
Tony didn’t know what to say. From what he gathered, he sort of arrived at the same conclusion as Mark. The assassin turned Avenger was a liability with or without his powers. Mark showed his skill in taking down all of them very easily, it didn’t matter if he had his powers or not. If Mark wanted to, he could be a dangerous person. The thing no one saw was Mark didn’t want to be that person. Tony looked at Mark and saw the sadness in his eyes, and all Tony could think was all Mark wanted was to be here with everyone he cared about and most of all be with Steve.  
“It doesn’t sound like something you can’t handle. I mean you will need my help for sure…”  
“That’s not all Tony,” Mark cut Tony off. Tony waited, but there was a long period of silence before Mark spoke again. “I don’t plan on doing anything reckless, but if I am careless… he is going to need help through it.”  
Tony was confused by what Mark meant. “Steve? What do you mean?”  
Mark stared at Tony and Tony could see the worry now in Mark’s eyes. “Fury told me something I thought I would never hear from him. He told me he was worried about me. Worried because he didn’t know what Thaddeus and Gabriel had planned for me. In the decades I have known Fury, he has never worried about me. This time… he made sure I knew.”  
Tony leaned back on the table as he heard this. “And he doesn’t know what they will do?”  
“If Fury did, he would tell me. He wouldn’t be worried. He would let me handle it. He actually told me to keep my distance from Steve for now. With Thaddeus and Gabriel here all the time and the politics going on in Congress, Fury told me he was worried what would come for me.”  
“Shit,” Tony said as he thought about the situation. “We have to tell…”  
“We tell no one,” Mark said firmly. “We can handle this. You have the political side, and I can manage here. I can get Steve to keep up this plan, and he knew they were dangerous. I don’t think we all understood how deep this went. We assumed it was a bigot stance, but it’s more. All because it centers around me.”  
“You sure we can pull this off just the two of us?” Tony asked Mark just gave a sarcastic look at Tony. “Yeah, you’re right. If anyone can, we could. This will be tough though.”  
“You manage the political side of it all I can manage things on this end,” Mark said.   
“Won’t everyone know something is up?”   
“We have this initiative happening. We all will be busy. It won’t look weird. You going to meetings about it, me alone planning and working on other aspects of training. We will be smart and do double work. We can do this.”  
“Hmm,” Tony thought as he sipped his coffee. “We can do it. Will you be able to stay safe.”  
“I don’t even know if I am safe now, Tony…” Mark paused thinking for a moment. “If something happens to me…”  
“Nothing will happen to you,” Tony cut Mark off before he could say what he was thinking as well. “You will be fine and so will Steve. I think we all can agree you have been through enough and that alone can ensure your safety.”  
Mark just smiled as soon as Tony said those words. “Yeah, you’re right. I will be fine.”


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15  
Mark  
It had been over a week since the training began for the Youn Avenger Initiative. Mark was surprised how much he enjoyed the whole thing. He didn’t think he would like mentoring a teenager as well as helping train a whole group of them, but he found it rewarding.   
It was September 23rd, and Mark decided to give the kids a break from training today. It was more so he could enjoy the day himself, but he figured the kids needed to have some fun as well from all of the good work they had done.   
Mark decided to relax before the big night, and maybe let Steve sweat it out wondering where he was all day. He decided to go to the mall and wander around. He never really thought of celebrating his birthday before, and it was the first time he was nervous what Steve would think knowing last minute. Steve would probably feel horribly guilty and want to make it up to him on the spot, but honestly, Steve doesn’t know so Mark can't expect that from Steve.   
Mark walked through the mall looking at all the people dressed for the changing season. He could see families walking through the mall in coats and scarves, staying warm from the crisp autumn air.   
Mark stopped at one of the shops and looked inside the window. It sold memorabilia of all kinds, and he couldn’t help but stop and stare at the Captain America items they had. Mark could see all the Avengers represented in this store, Thor items, Hawkeye, Blackwidow, and of course tons of Iron Man items. But Mark just looked at the Captain America items. There were stuffed shields for kids, tee-shirts, and even a stuffed Captain America plushy. Mark couldn’t help but laugh. “Lord if there was a Creed plushy or Lucinda one, I think I would kill myself,” Mark said to himself. Mark turned to see a woman walk out of the store with her son. He couldn’t have been more than four years old.  
“Thanks, mommy,” The little kid said as he hugged the Captain America plushy. Mark watched the kid and just smiled. The little boy just held the stuffed super soldier tightly as he reached for his mom's hand to walk through the mall. Mark turned back to look at the items in the store. “I see why you are so proud of all this, Steve. Maybe a Creed or Lucinda stuffed doll wouldn’t be too bad,” Mark said to himself.   
“Mark, what are you doing here?” Mark heard as he snapped out of his own thoughts. Mark turned to see the Young Avengers standing behind him. “Why else is anyone at the mall, window shopping,” Mark answered. “And don’t you guys have the day off, why would you want to hang around your teacher today?”   
“Well, we were wondering why you were here and not getting ready for your date?” Brian Braddock asked.   
Mark was shocked they knew about this, but then he started to quickly put the pieces together in his head. “Clint has you and Pietro working on your spying skills huh? He used you both so he can keep up with all the news in the mansion. Who did you spy on to find out about it?” Mark asked.   
Brain and Pietro stared at one another with a guilty look on their faces. “Steve was the easiest to spy on. Clint warned us not to spy on you, Natasha, or Andrea. He said we would be found out quickly by all of you. Tony also knew some things about the date, but we didn’t spy on him,” Brain answered.   
“And how did you get the information out of Tony?” Mark asked.   
“That’s my part,” Peter Parker answered. “I hacked into Tony’s files and found out some information he had. We also had another question for you.”  
“Well you all already know about my damn date so might as well ask away,” Mark said folding his arms.   
“We were wondering what Steve was going to do for your birthday? We wanted to do something as well,” Wanda said shyly to Mark.   
Mark's eyes went wide. No one had known about his birthday for over a century. Tony and he didn’t find out until they did carbon dating on his cells to find the exact day. And here the kids used the skills they learned in training to find out this information.   
“Who else knows?” Mark asked. The kids looked around in confusion. “We thought everyone knew,” Tigra said to Mark.   
“No, not everyone. Tony and I only found out when it was a few months ago. And now that you know I guess Natasha and Andrea found out. If they didn’t tell Clint, then I guess Steve doesn’t know yet. Did you guys say anything to anyone?” Mark asked.   
The kids looked worried now as Mark began to speak to them in a serious tone. “We asked Steve what he was doing for your date, but he turned red and avoided answering the question. He acted like you guys weren’t even going on a date,” Wasp said to Mark.   
Mark let out a sigh, “Of course he did. That part is a little complicated to explain.” Mark leaned his head against the glass of the store. The cool glass felt nice against the back of his head. “You guys don’t need to do anything. I doubt we can get enough candles to put on the cake anyway,” Mark said.   
“But…” Ms. Marvel began, “it’s your first birthday. Least the first one you are celebrating.”  
Mark stood up straight from the glass and looked at them. “Sometimes people don’t want to celebrate it because of what they were. I am fine with it. I didn’t even tell Steve about today being my birthday.”  
“So you were going to tell him on the date?” Wanda asked.   
“Since when did my life become a soap opera for teenagers?” Mark asked himself. “You guys don’t need to worry about me. It’s your day off, go enjoy it. Keep asking questions, and I will make sure the next training session will leave you all in pain for a week.”  
The kids took the hint and slowly began to walk away from Mark. “We will see you later teach,” Brian said. Mark let out a sigh, he was now “teach” to them.   
All of them walked off, but Wanda and Tigra stood there still. “Why are you two straggling behind?” Mark asked.   
“We still want to do something, even if you don’t want it,” Tigra said as she turned to walk away. Wanda still stood there.   
“So is it not a date? I’m confused? Are you two together? He seems to act like he is with you but then denies it or avoids the answer,” Wanda said.   
“And with that, I say scadadle along with the rest,” Mark said to Wanda. Wanda slowly turned and walked away from Mark. She turned back before she spoke.   
“He was nervous about today. He does care. I don’t know what that means to you but thought you would like to know,” Wanda said looking at Mark.   
Mark smiled at her, “Thanks. Now go along, you guys should enjoy yourselves today.” Wanda smiled back then ran to catch up with the group.   
Mark turned back around to look at the plushy in the window. “You can’t even tell the kids what we are,” Mark said to himself. “I don’t blame you. They don’t care and could easily spill the details to anyone without a second thought. Who knew keeping this hidden would be so tough.” He felt a sense of dread about the date tonight. Mark found himself staring at the plushie. Maybe he could get it for Steve. If anything, it would make Steve laugh, and they both needed that right now. Mark stepped to the side to enter the store when he turned his head at the noise.   
A blast came from the other end of the mall. Mark could hear people screaming as the smoke began to blow past with debris flying over. Mark turned and ran toward the commotion. Mark could see the Young Avengers standing there looking at the explosion.   
“Well, guess our day off is canceled,” Mark shouted as he ran past them. The teenagers took the hint and quickly sprung into action. Mark could see Pietro run past him in a blur.   
“Quicksilver, scan the area for more bombs and the source of the explosion,” Mark shouted as he ran forward. The other teens were behind him in the distance, and he hoped Pietro heard him so he would follow his direction. Of course, something like this would happen today.   
Mark had to dodge people running the opposite direction, and then he ran up on a table to jump forward to clear more distance in the panic. That’s when Mark saw the source of the explosion. Some giant man in black body armor with a metal skull covering his face. He looked to have large metal gauntlets on his hands, like augmented boxing gloves. The man was massive in size. Mark saw Pietro trying to attack the man but couldn’t get any serious hit on him. The man swung at Pietro, but he was too slow to hit the speedster.   
Mark could see the other Young Avengers coming closer and then someone charging straight at him. Mark jumped and flipped over the person causing the man to crash into the wall. Mark looked back to see Rhino was the man charging at him.   
“Two attackers?” Mark said looking at the two men. The man in black looked over at Mark.   
“And who the hell are you?” The man asked.   
Mark quickly formed a sword in his hand ready for battle.  
“Watch out for that one,” Rhino said getting up from the debris. “He is tougher than he looks. Took out me and Doc Oc before.”  
“So you are the assassin then,” The man in black stepped forward. Pietro was about to lunge forward to attack, but Mark held his hand up.   
“You know me?” Mark asked.   
“We run in a similar circle. You a hired assassin, me a hired mercenary,” the man said stepping forward. “Name’s Crossbones.”  
“The mercenary,” Mark said.   
“So you heard of me?” Crossbones said.   
Mark looked around, “Only of your sloppy work.” Mark could see this angered Crossbones. Mark gestured for Pietro to watch Rhino behind him. Out of the two of them, Mark was more concerned about Crossbones. The teenagers could easily take out the Rhino.   
That’s when Mark saw out of the corner of his eye something small moving across the mall. Mark turned to see the little boy he saw earlier crying looking for his mom.   
“Well, what do we have here, the assassin has grown soft. Caring about children now?” Crossbones taunted.   
“You wouldn’t dare,” Mark said.   
“Well, I can’t just yet,” Crossbones said swinging his arm hitting Pietro who was trying for a sneak attack. “The boy is quick but overestimates his ability to dodge when going full speed.” Pietro went flying to the other Avengers. Mark could hear Wanda shout as she ran to her brother. Pietro was holding his stomach but looked to be fine.   
“You shouldn’t have taken your eyes off of me,” Crossbones said as Mark felt a crash of pain hit his side sending him flying. Unlike Pietro, Mark quickly spun and landed on his feet running back after Crossbones. “Take out Rhino and see if there are any other mercenaries here, I got this idiot,” Mark shouted as he dodged a swing from Crossbones's huge fist and jumped up slamming his knee into Crossbones’s chest. The giant mercenary went down, and Rhino came charging at Mark only to be hit to the side by a blast from Wasp.   
“Thanks, take him out, look for survivors, and see if there are others,” Mark shouted. Crossbones stood up, but Mark was ready. He saw Crossbones punch the wall breaking apiece of concrete the size of an adult.   
“You really think you are going to hit me with that?” Mark asked.   
“Not you, him,” Crossbones looked over to the little kid still crying standing there. Mark didn’t hesitate, he ran straight for the kid. Crossbones prepared to throw the concrete slab at the kid. Mark ran and slid on the tile grabbing the crying kid and holding him close to the ground. Mark felt the concrete rub his arm as it flew by them. He just missed getting hit. Mark stood up still holding the kid.   
“You alright?” Mark asked. The kid was still crying, but he was able to nod. “It’s alright, I am going to get you to safety,” Mark said.   
“I want my mommy,” The kid began to cry as he squeezed his Captain America plushy.   
“We will find her,” Mark said looking back at the Crossbones.   
The man held his hand out with a remote in it. “You might want to look to your left,” Crossbones said. Mark turned to look and saw a bomb attached to the wall. “Shit,” Mark said, and he began to run, but it was too late. Crossbones hit the button, and Mark was sent flying holding onto the kid into a store. Mark turned to take the impact from the wall so the kid would be okay. When Mark hit the wall, he could hear the building collapse and everything went black for him.   
Mark felt someone shaking him.   
“Mister! Are you okay? Please wake up mister!” was all Mark could hear. Mark slowly opened his eyes and saw a blurry figure of Captain America in front of him.   
“Steve?” Mark said.   
“No mister, my name is Jake. Please get up,” The little boy asked. Mark slowly sat up and felt a massive pain in his head.   
“Sorry Jake, I thought you were someone else. I’m Mark,” Mark said to the little kid. Mark smiled, but he didn’t know what type of damage he took or how scary it looked. When Jake smiled back, he figured it wasn’t that bad. Mark looked around and saw rubble all around them.   
“So tell me, after we came flying in what happened?” Mark asked the little kid.   
“The building fell. Then it got dark. I want to find my mommy,” Jake said as he hugged the Captain America doll tighter.   
“Well then Jake,” Mark said as he stood up, happy no legs were broken, “let’s go find her.”  
“How?” Jake asked as he followed Mark.   
“Well, first we need to get out of here. I think once we do that then it will be easy to find your mom. She is probably waiting for you,” Mark said looking at Jake who looked scared standing there next to him. Mark looked at the rubble and all around the collapsed entrance. He couldn’t find any source of light coming through.   
“How long was I knocked out for?” Mark asked.   
“Huh?” Jake asked.   
Mark rolled his eyes, “How long was I sleeping?” Mark asked again.   
Jake shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, a while.”  
Mark sighed. The only source of information he had was a four-year-old child. Mark pulled out his phone and noticed it was smashed in pieces. “Well, that won’t help. Did you hear any noise out there?” Mark asked.   
Jake shook his head. “It stopped a long time ago,” Jake said.   
“That’s not good,” Mark said. Mark knew if the fighting stopped someone won. And if the Young Avengers weren’t helping dig him out of this rubble, it might mean the bad guys won.   
“Well Jake, let's see if there is an exit at the back of the store,” Mark said as he began to walk. Mark noticed Jake was still standing there scared. Mark turned and walked back to the little kid. He held out his hand. “Don’t worry, I will keep you safe until we find her. Me and Captain America there,” Mark said. Jake looked at his doll and then grabbed Mark’s hand. Mark and Jake walked to the back of the store.   
“How will we get out?” Jake asked.   
“Usually there are hallways in the back of stores in the mall. We should be able to find the door. It should lead to a way out,” Mark said praying the door wasn’t blocked. Mark found the door and sadly it was blocked. Mark pushed the door and noticed he could pry it open.   
“Alright Jake stand back, I am going to push this open. You go in first, and I will follow,” Jake nodded, and Mark let go of Jake’s hand. Mark began to push the door, and he could feel all the damage from the blast in his body. He now knew he had a few broken ribs and more bruises than he could count. Mark was able to get the door open enough for him to fit through.   
“Okay Jake, you first,” Mark said, and the little kid went through the door with ease. Mark had to quickly move his body to not get wedged by the door to fit through. Then more debris fell covering the door when it shut. “Well least we can move forward,” Mark said walking down the hall. He was happy the emergency lights were on to light their way. Mark felt Jake grab his hand as they walked. Mark looked down at the little kid holding his doll tightly.   
“Is Captain America your favorite Avenger?” Mark asked trying to talk to keep the kid calm.   
“Yeah,” Jake said shyly. “He is the strongest and the bravest. He would have beaten up those guys.”   
Mark had so much to say about his pride to the kid be he decided not to scold Jake. “Yeah, he would have. He is strong.”  
“He would have thrown his shield and knocked them both out in one hit!” Jake said loudly. Mark laughed at how much this kid really believed in Steve. He couldn’t break his dreams by telling him how Crossbones’s helmet would have protected him from damage from the shield.   
“That or punched them each in the face, especially if he knew they were trying to hurt you,” Mark added.   
“Yeah, he is great,” Jake said calming down.   
“Have you ever met him?” Mark asked thinking back to the grocery store where Steve would make time for his fans.   
Jake’s eyes lit up, “No, have you?” Jake asked.   
“A few times,” Mark said. “I actually know him pretty well, not as Captain America though.”  
“You do?!” Jake said excitedly.   
“Yeah, my guess is he is looking for the both of us right now,” after he has his freak out about what happened to me, Mark thought to himself.   
“Will I meet him?” Jake asked.   
“Maybe,” Mark said.   
Jake began to giggle as they walked down the hallway. They turned the corner, and Mark could see Jake getting excited about the idea of meeting his hero.   
Mark stopped in the hallway when he heard a noise. Mark crouched down and held his finger to his mouth to signal to Jake to not speak. Mark moved Jake close to the wall and walked slowly down to look around the corner.   
“I can’t believe Crossbones trapped us in here. Man, the boss is going to be pissed,” Mark heard. Mark looked and saw three men standing there looking for an exit.   
“He was supposed to take out those teenagers and cause panic. Who knew he would be dedicated to knocking out that assassin,” one of the men complained.   
Mark turned to Jake, “Stay here, I am going to take care of these guys. They are with that bad man who attacked us back there,” Mark whispered.   
Mark stood up and felt Jake grab his hand. Jake shook his head telling Mark not to go. Mark kneeled down. “It’s okay. I’m an Avenger too, That’s how I know him,” Mark said pointing to the Captain America doll. “I will take care of them, and then we will go find your mom.” Jake looked up at Mark confused but nodded. Mark formed a sword in his hand as he stood up. Jake watched in awe as Mark grabbed the sword. Mark was happy the cuffs could take this much damage and still work.   
Mark turned the corner and walked up to the first man. “And who do we have here?” The man had said before Mark punched him twice, slamming him into the wall knocking him out.   
“Jesus,” another man said.   
“So you guys work for the same boss as Crossbones?” Mark asked.   
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” The man mocked.   
“I heard you, you idiot,” Mark replied. The man looked surprised and pulled out a knife.   
“And who are you?” The man asked holding out the knife at Mark. Mark showed his sword to the man who began to worry. “That assassin you were talking about,” Mark said using his sword to knock out the knife and kicking the man in the stomach. While the man was hunched over, Mark kneed him in the face sending him flying back knocked out.   
“I don’t want any trouble dude,” The last man said.   
“Then give me some information. Your boss, who is he?” Mark asked holding out his sword.   
“I don’t know his name. He remained anonymous. He hired us to take out those teenage Avengers. He hired Rhino and Crossbones to do the work. We didn’t know you would be here. Crossbones trapped us in here,” The man said.   
“Why does he want them taken out?” Mark asked stepped forward. The man held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t know. Think he is worried about them. Said he wanted to cause panic. He asked us to rough them up and any bystanders. I don’t know anything else.”  
Mark put down his sword and stepped closer. “Last thing, I need you to deliver a message. Lucky for you that means you will live. Tell Crossbones I am still alive and he hasn’t won,” Mark said to the man. The man nodded. “Good,” Mark said elbowing the man in the head and knocking him out.   
Mark made his sword disappear and turned to see Jake standing there. “I told you to wait,” Mark said.   
“That was awesome,” Jake said with a smile. Mark sighed and turned to walk. “Come on,” Mark said as he led the way.   
Jake ran up to walk beside Mark. “You really are an Avenger?” Jake asked.   
“Yeah, not as popular as the rest but I am. The name’s Creed,” Mark said.   
“And you can make swords in your hand?” Jake asked.   
“Well yeah. Long story with that but in short yeah,” Mark didn’t feel like telling his life story of the past few years to a kid.   
“That’s awesome,” Jake said. Mark looked down at Jake who was smiling, and he couldn’t help but smile himself. They both heard a scream from behind them and turned to look. One of the men wasn’t knocked out long and came lunging at Mark with a knife. Mark grabbed the man’s wrist and slammed him into the wall. Mark then punched him in the stomach, and the man fell to the floor. The man got up and saw Jake standing there. The man reached for the knife, but Mark stepped on the man’s hand before he could grab the knife.   
“That’s low, even for you villains. Targeting a kid,” Mark said in disgust and kicked the man in the stomach then in the face knocking him out.   
Jake just looked up at Mark. “Sorry, you had to see that,” Mark apologized to Jake.   
“You ARE an Avenger. That was awesome!” Jake said with a smile.   
“Well that went better than I expected for traumatizing a little kid,” Mark said as he walked.   
They quickly found the exit and got out of the mall. Jake was still holding Mark’s hand as they walked to the Emergency Vehicles and Mark sat in the ambulance as they examined him. Jake stood near him while some rescuers looked for his mom.   
Mark already knew the news on the exam before they told him. Few broken ribs, bruises, he didn’t know he had a black eye, luckily no fractures on his skull. All and all, Mark made it out pretty well from the blast.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16  
Steve  
Steve ran over to where Tony and Andrea stood. “Any sign of him?” Steve asked.   
Andrea shook her head, “No. The people I looked at who matched his description weren’t him. He is still missing.”  
“It’s alright Cap, we will find him. He has been through worse,” Tony said trying to calm Steve down.   
“But he has never been hurt this bad without his powers,” Steve said in a panic. Steve looked at the crowd hoping to maybe see Mark around. “The kids said he took a blast from a bomb and went flying into a store. The building collapsed, what if he is still trapped in there?” Steve asked.   
“We looked, Cap,” Andrea said. “We didn’t find him in there. Don’t you think it was the first place Iron Man and I would look?”   
Steve nodded his head, “You’re right, I’m just scared.”  
Steve felt Andrea’s hand on his shoulder, “We all are,” She said to him.   
“I should have been there to do something. He was there, and so were the teens,” Steve said beating himself up.   
“Cap, it was a day off. Where else would teenagers go other than the mall? No one knew why they attacked the mall. You can’t blame yourself. It’s not like Mark was on a mission or something,” Tony explained.   
Steve let out a sigh, “You’re right.”  
“We usually are,” Andrea said.   
“Captain America,” A paramedic came walking toward Steve.   
“Yes,” Steve replied.   
“We have someone who matched the description you gave us. He is over in the ambulance there,” the paramedic pointed, “getting treated and checked out.”  
“Thanks,” Steve said, and he rushed over to the area the paramedic pointed. He didn’t even have time to say anything to Andrea or Tony. He rushed over and looked around. He checked all the ambulances and saw a man sitting in one of them.   
“Mark!” Steve shouted, and the man turned. Steve felt so much relief when he saw it was Mark. He ran over.   
“Thank God you’re okay,” Steve said catching his breath.   
“Of course I am, takes more than that to kill me,” Mark said smiling.   
“You had me worried. We couldn’t find you for hours,” Steve said looking at Mark’s face. He noticed the cuts and a black eye. “How bad did you get hurt?” Steve asked.   
“All things considered not bad. Few broken ribs, black eye, bruises everywhere, but all in all alright considering I took the brunt of the hit from the blast,” Mark said.   
“Why did you…” Steve began when he noticed a little person hiding behind Mark. Mark looked to see Steve looking at Jake.   
“Captain America, this is Jake. He helped me out of the mall. We both flew into the store after the blast. He made it out better than I did. Oh and he is a huge fan of yours,” Mark said pushing Jake forward. Steve kneeled down.   
“Is that true? Did you help my friend?” Steve asked. Jake just nodded and looked back at Mark. “You weren’t lying, you do know Captain America. Does that mean you are an Avenger too?” Jake asked. Mark held his finger to his lips. “Let’s not tell everyone now. We have secret identities for a reason,” Mark said.   
Jake just laughed and hugged Mark. “My friends are going to be so jealous I met two Avengers.”  
Steve could feel warmth in his chest seeing Mark with Jake. Steve watched as Mark would make a joke to Jake and Jake just laughed and smile. Steve saw Jake look over at Steve. “Were you worried about your friend?” Jake asked.   
Steve froze for a second. He didn’t know how else to answer Jake but went along with his words. “I was. I didn’t know what happened to him. He does have a habit of doing this to me though. Maybe you could teach him not to be so reckless.”  
“Hey,” Mark said to Steve. Then Steve heard Jake laugh.   
“He did fight bad guys in there. He punched them like you would Captain America. It was soo cool. He might fight as good as you do,” Jake said   
“Good to know the PTSD hasn’t set in yet,” Mark said smiling.   
“He is actually better than me when it comes to fighting,” Steve said. Jake’s eyes went big as he smiled and looked at Mark.   
“Really?!” Jake asked.   
“Sure am, kid,” Mark agreed.   
“Jake!” Steve heard from a distance. A woman came running up to them and hugged Jake. “Thank goodness. I thought I lost you,” The woman said. The woman looked up at Steve and asked. “Did you save him, Captain America?”   
Steve shook his head and pointed at Mark. The woman looked up at Mark who just shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah not as glorious as having Captain America save your kid I’m sure,” Mark said.   
“Thank you,” The woman said then she looked at Jake. “Where did you go?”  
“I was scared, and I lost you, and I couldn’t find you then everyone was gone. I didn’t know what to do. Then Mark grabbed me when the bad man tried to hurt us. Then there was an explosion. We flew into the store, and it was dark. We went through a maze and Mark fought these bad men. He knows Captain America too, and he is an Avenger too!” Jake said one breath. The woman just ran her hand through her son’s hair and kissed him on the forehead.   
She looked up at Mark. “You are an Avenger, thanks for saving my son.”  
“Mom! He is an Avenger. His name is…” Jake stopped, and Steve looked to see Mark holding his finger to his lips. “He is an Avenger, mommy,” Jake said.   
“I know, Jakey, I know,” The woman picked Jake up and looked at Mark. “I can’t ever repay you for what you did and for putting yourself in danger for my son. Thank you,” The woman said as she leaned forward and hugged Mark. Steve saw Mark go tense when she did this. It was odd to see Mark do that, Steve figured it was from the pain.   
“Um…no problem. Just doing my job,” Mark said as the woman walked away. Steve watched the woman walk away and Jake waving to them. Steve waved back to Jake and turned to Mark who was just finishing his wave. Steve stared at Mark.  
“What?” Mark asked.  
Steve stepped forward and reached out to touch Mark’s face, “Steve, there are cameras around remember,” Mark said. Steve stopped his motion, and his hand fell to his side. He was still fearful of what Gabriel and Thaddeus would do to Mark if they say him showing him affection on the news.   
“Sorry, it was just nice to see that.”  
“Don’t get any ideas. I saw how you were smiling looking at Jake and me,” Mark said.   
“What ideas would I get?” Steve asked innocently.   
“We can’t, not now maybe not ever. We already have a house full of kids to take care of,” Mark said.   
“You know all the Young Avengers are worried about you, right?” Steve added.   
“Oh, I forgot about them. We have a house full of kids and now a dorm full of teenagers to take care of. We can’t possibly have a kid of our own, so no ideas,” Mark said with a tone.   
Steve just smiled. “You would make a great dad.”  
Steve could see a blush forming on Mark’s face. “You would be the better dad, Steve. I would be the bad cop. What has you thinking about this anyway?”  
Steve looked down for a moment to hide his smile. “I told you. I love you, Mark.”  
“I get that, but even when I was with David, we never focused on the future just us being together. What is going on in your head?” Mark asked again.   
“I told you that too. I want to share my life with you. That includes everything. Being married, family, but definitely going on together. I don’t want you out of my life ever.”  
Mark was about to speak, but then Steve watched as he slowly smiled and stopped himself from talking.   
“Speechless? It's rare I do that to you,” Steve said stepping closer.   
“Listen here Rogers, we can’t. We have our own mess to solve before anything else. I mean the wedding is on hold right now,” Mark added.   
“That’s not fair, I don’t have another name to call you by when you talk to me like that.”  
“You will one day. You get to feel the joy of calling me Rogers when we are married.”  
Steve found himself speechless right now.   
“You okay?” Mark asked.   
Steve looked up at Mark. “You’re going to take my name?”  
“Not like I have a name to give. So makes sense, besides… I like your name.”  
Steve smiled big when he heard those words. He never thought about it, but it meant a lot to him to hear those words. Mark would take his name, but Steve never realized the significance of it until now.   
“So I guess I can be blamed for ruining the date, huh?” Mark said jokingly.   
Steve laughed. “We can always reschedule the date,” Steve said.   
“For next year?” Mark asked.   
“What? Why that long?” Steve asked shocked.   
“Well I mean the special day only comes once a year, and you said you will wait,” Mark said smiling.   
Steve sat down next to Mark in the ambulance. “Do you think I didn’t figure out what the day meant to you?” Steve asked.   
“No, I figured you would. The whole damn house knows. I wish they didn’t, I wanted to just share it with you, least for the first time I am celebrating it,” Mark said. Steve looked around and grabbed Mark’s hand. “We can still celebrate just won’t be on the day, I promise. I didn’t know you wanted to share something that big with only me,” Steve said surprised.   
“Why wouldn’t you think I would?” Mark asked.   
Before Steve could answer, he heard a “There you are, mate,” as Joseph Chapman walked up to the ambulance. Steve made sure to let go of Mark’s hand even though he wanted to hold on.   
“Bugger, you got pretty beat up in there, didn’t you?” Joseph said.   
“Yeah well, it happens. Occupational hazard I suppose,” Mark said holding his hands up. Mark looked over at Steve who was smiling at him from his joke.   
“How are the Young Avengers by the way?” Mark asked.   
“The majority of the damage is in their pride. Both Rhino and Crossbones wiped the floor with them. Both got away, though. The kids are bruised and cut, but nothing serious,” Steve answered.   
“Poor kids,” Mark said.   
“They will be fine. It just shows how much more training they need,” Joseph said. “They need to work on their teamwork.”  
“They do,” Mark agreed.   
“So shall we make sure you are okay and head back to celebrate your birthday? The kids are worried if you are okay,” Joseph said. Mark turned to Steve.   
“See this is why I didn’t want everyone to know. Why are they making a big deal about me?” Mark said.   
“Cause you are a big deal to some of us,” Steve said smiling at Mark.   
Mark smiled and looked down avoiding Steve’s eyes. Steve could tell Mark was blushing again. It was rare to have Mark respond this way to Steve so much in one conversation. “Thanks,” Mark finally said as he looked up smiling.   
“Let’s get you back to the mansion,” Joseph said holding out his hand to help Mark.   
Mark took Joseph's hand as he helped him up. “So you can walk,” Joseph said.   
“Yeah I am not that badly hurt,” Mark said. Still, Joseph wrapped Mark’s arm around his shoulder for support. Steve could feel his jealousy come up as he saw this. He stood up, “I can take him back to the mansion,” Steve said.   
“It’s alright, mate. I got him. You go help the wounded and see if you can get any more information on the blokes who did this and who they work for,” Joseph said. Steve was about to protest that remark when Thaddeus and Gabriel walked up.   
“Well looks like you are not as indestructible as you claimed to be,” Thaddeus said.   
“Still alive, so I count that,” Mark snapped back.  
“We need to debrief as soon as possible about this event. We cannot let our Young Avengers be in danger like that again,” Gabriel said.   
“Debrief on your own, I am getting some rest,” Mark said as he tried to walk. Gabriel stood in front of him.   
“We need everyone there for the debriefing. You are not excused,” Gabrial said.   
Mark looked over at Steve who just silently stood there. Steve didn’t know what to say. These were members of the Board. He couldn’t argue them. He felt Mark’s anger on him when he said nothing.   
“I see I have no choice in the matter,” Mark said looking back at Thaddeus and Gabriel. Steve wish he said something, Mark did have a choice, he should rest not be forced to go to the debriefing.   
“Now hold on,” Joseph said. “This man just saved a kid and took some serious damage from it. Shouldn’t he rest? I mean what example are you showing to the public if you are forcing an injured Avenger to go to a debriefing?”   
Thaddeus and Gabriel looked at one another. Joseph was right, they would send a message to the other members of the team that they don’t care about their health.   
“He is excused from the debriefing, but I expect you read the full report on it,” Gabriel said.   
“Fine,” Mark said as Both Gabriel and Thaddeus began to walk away.   
“Aye, wait. Who will be the one to take him back to the mansion?” Joseph shouted. “We all can’t be in two places at once.”  
Before Steve could volunteer, Thaddeus answered. “You are already carrying him. You can take him back. I expect to see all the other members at the debriefing in one hour.”  
“Aight then,” Joseph shouted.   
Mark looked over at Joseph, “Thanks.”  
“No problem, mate. You should be resting. Let’s get you back to the mansion,” Joseph said. Steve walked alongside them as they went to the others.   
“You had to get yourself hurt really bad didn’t you?” Joseph said.   
“What you don’t like the whole beaten and battered look? I thought I pulled off the black eye quite well,” Mark said smiling.   
“I will admit you do that,” Joseph said. Steve held back his rage at Joseph flirting with Mark, and more so Mark flirting back. Steve saw Joseph’s had moved his hand to Mark’s hip. Steve was about to swat it away when he saw Mark tense up.   
“You okay?” Steve asked when he saw this. Mark looked at Steve surprised that he noticed. “Yeah, just pain from the injuries is all,” Mark said. Joseph moved his hand away, which Steve was happy about.  
“Jesus Christ,” Andrea shouted when she saw Mark. “What the hell did you get yourself into now?”   
“Relax, I’m fine. Just need some rest is all,” Mark said. Andrea stepped forward and examined Mark. “He did a number on you huh?”  
“The explosion did, and the glass storefront, and I think a few slabs of concrete. Not sure, I blacked out,” Mark answered.   
“If you start losing your memory again I swear I am done with your recklessness,” Andrea answered.   
“So what now? Hunt down clues to who did this?” Tony asked.   
“We have to another time. Gabriel and Thaddeus want all members of the team to go to a debriefing. Union Jack is taking Mark back to the mansion,” Steve said reluctantly. Andrea looked at Tony who just shrugged his shoulders.   
“Union Jack and not…you?” Andrea asked.   
“Well, I volunteered. Also had to put up a fight against Gabriel and Thaddeus wanting Mark there. So they must have figured they don’t want to see my face tonight,” Joseph answered.   
“Well then take the car, we have to take the Quin Jet to S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Tony said.   
“Alright,” Joseph said as he helped Mark over to the car.   
“See you guys back at the mansion,” Mark said smiling.   
When Mark was out of view, both Andrea and Tony turned to Steve with their arms folded.   
“What?” Steve asked.   
“You couldn’t fight for Mark to go back to the mansion and be the one to take him home?” Andrea asked.   
“It would have been a great opportunity for you to have some alone time since the date was ruined today,” Tony said.   
“Tony he is bruised all over, I don’t think sex would have solved the issue today,” Andrea said.   
Tony raised his hand in protest but froze, “I forgot about the bruising and broken ribs. You’re right,” Tony said as he put his hand down. “But still alone time would have helped. You both are going crazy keeping this up in front of Thaddeus and Gabriel. Even if you two could be alone together, it would have helped.”  
“I agree, so what’s your excuse?” Andrea asked looking at Steve.   
Steve didn’t have an answer. “I don’t know. I just froze when Thaddeus and Gabriel were there. I thought they would find it suspicious that I wanted Mark to rest and be the one to take him home.”  
“Suspicious that the leader wants to make sure his team member is resting from injuries and you are the one to make sure he is okay?” Tony said.   
“I mean… yes?” Steve answered in a low voice.   
Andrea threw her hands up in defeat. “I don’t know what to do with you sometimes. I get why you are doing all this, you can thank Mark for talking to this one and explaining it to me,” Andrea said pointing at Tony. “But if you keep this up that British man is going to steal Mark from you,” Andrea shouted.   
Steve looked up in shock. “No, that couldn’t happen.”  
“Why not Cap?” Tony asked. “He is giving Mark what he needs right now. And let’s not act like we don’t see him trying to get Mark’s attention. We understand why you guys are doing what you need to now, but Andrea is right. It should be you with him, not Union Jack. He will work hard to steal Mark.”  
Steve felt his face flush with anger as he thought about how Mark and he flirted. “What do I do?” Steve asked.   
“You know what to do,” Andrea said.   
Steve sighed, “You said you understood. It is much more complicated than that…I don’t know what they would do to Mark.”  
Before Andrea could yell, Tony put his hand on her shoulder. Andrea looked up to Tony, and Steve could tell Tony was letting Andrea know she should back off.  
“Thanks, Tony. For now, let’s go to the debriefing,” Steve said leading the way to the Quin Jet.  
“Fun, we get to be yelled at by someone other than Fury,” Tony said.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17  
Tony  
“Well that was fun,” Tony said walking out of the conference room.   
“Who knew they would yell at everyone,” Andrea added.   
“Well, we all knew it. It seems they wanted to yell at Mark the most. Good thing he didn’t come,” Tony said.   
“Would he have cared? He already hates them, and he knows they hate him. Them adding fuel to the fire won’t do anything for him,” Andrea said. Andrea looked back to see everyone leaving the room in defeat. “It looks like everyone else took it harder than we did.”  
Tony looked back and saw the Young Avengers hanging their heads low and even Steve looking sad about the debriefing. “They will learn from this. It isn’t that bad, but what do you think has Steve so down? He usually is the one to cheer people up after a tough debriefing,” Tony said.   
“I don’t think he was paying any attention to what Thaddeus and Gabriel said in there,” Andrea pointed out.   
Tony looked over at Steve who was walking in a daze. “You’re right. He is still worried about Mark and Joseph,” Tony agreed.   
“He is being dumb, Mark wouldn’t do anything with Joseph,” Andrea said confidently.   
Tony thought for a moment. Would Mark really do nothing? Joseph was giving him what he needed right now and taking opportunities Steve should be taking.   
“You don’t agree?” Andrea asked.   
Tony looked at her then back at Steve. “I think he has reason to worry,” Tony confessed.   
Steve walked over to Andrea and Tony and looked up. “That wasn’t too bad,” Steve said.   
“Yeah being yelled at how reckless we were and how the city needs to pay for the damage we didn’t even do. Add the fact they told us how we are not training the Young Avengers fast enough for emergency purposes and any events in the future, they need to prove they are ready first before going into the field. Wonderful debriefing,” Andrea said sarcastically.   
“True,” Steve said. Andrea looked shocked she only got one-word answers from Steve. She looked at Tony.   
“How are you doing?” Tony asked.   
“About that?” Steve asked.   
“No the other things, Steve,” Tony asked.   
“Oh,” Steve said knowing what Tony was referencing. “I don’t know. Mark didn’t respond to any messages I sent him. I don’t know what could be going on.”  
Tony held his head in his hand.   
“Steve,” Andrea said reaching into her pocket pulling out a smashed phone. “This is Mark’s phone.”  
Steve looked at it in relief.   
“We all talked about it and joked. This is probably the tenth phone he broke in a year. Really? Did you think he was ignoring you?” Tony asked.   
“I didn’t know what to think, Tony,” Steve said.   
“Well that wasn’t too bad,” Tony heard from behind Steve. Clint and Natasha stood behind them.   
“Did you guys see the Young Avengers? They looked like they took it the worst,” Tony said.   
“Well we will train them more, and it will help them see how much they have grown,” Clint said.   
“For once, you said something actually intelligent,” Natasha said to Clint. Clint made a face at Natasha and Natasha just rolled her eyes.   
“So are we doing any late night celebration?” Natasha said.   
“For our defeat?” Steve asked.   
“No you idiot, for Mark’s birthday. It is probably the first year he is ever celebrating it. We can’t let it pass us by,” Andrea said to Steve.   
Tony thought for a moment. “I can make a few calls to get food. Andrea can handle music. Can you guys get booze?” Tony asked Clint and Natasha.   
“I still have some of that Asgardian meed Thor brought,” Natasha said.   
“Awesome, so we can still do something for him. What about a present?” Tony asked. Everyone turned to Steve and looked at him when the question was asked.   
“What?” Steve asked.   
“Steve, it is Mark’s birthday. If anyone got him a gift it had to be you,” Andrea said.   
Steve just looked down in shame. Andrea let out a sigh and turned to Tony. “Can you figure anything out this late?” She asked him.   
“I could if I just know what to get him. We could get him a new phone, but he would know we got it for him after his was destroyed,” Tony said.   
“No, let me do something for him,” Steve said in protest.   
Tony looked around to everyone else who had no objection. “Alright, he might be happy we still pulled something together for him. Let’s get to our tasks and meet at the mansion,” Tony said.   
It was a few hours, and Tony was able to pull together a meal for everyone. Andrea decorated the kitchen and hallway with balloons and signs. Natasha got the meed she had, and Clint bought extra alcohol in case it was needed. Steve held a small gift in his hand as he walked in.   
“Well we are all here now, should we get the birthday boy?” Andrea asked.   
“Steve, can you get him?” Tony asked. Steve nodded and walked upstairs.   
“So what did he get Mark?” Andrea asked Tony. Both Natasha and Clint leaned forward to hear what Tony’s answer.   
“I have no clue. I was with you setting up the food and decorations. Steve went out on his own to get it, remember,” Tony said.   
“Can’t you hack his bank account to see where he went to buy something?” Clint asked.   
“You want me to hack his bank account to see where he went to get the gift because you can’t wait for Mark to open it in front of you?” Tony asked sarcastically. Clint coward back from the sarcastic comment, but truth be told Tony already did that. Steve didn’t buy a gift, he either had it saved already, or he made it. Tony had no clue what was in the box.   
“Well it isn’t as fancy as our other parties, but I think he will like it,” Andrea said looking around admiring her work.  
“I would agree. It might be the first time we put together something from scratch so quickly,” Tony said looking around.   
Sam came walking into the kitchen. “Whoa, a party? Are we celebrating our defeat?” Sam asked.   
“It’s Mark’s birthday you ass,” Andrea replied.   
“Oh…Surprise?” Sam asked.   
“Yeah, why?” Clint asked.   
“Well, that would explain why Joseph took him out. I thought you guys would have had Steve do it, though,” Sam said.   
“What?!” all four of them shouted. Steve came walking into the room and looked around at everyone angry.   
“I couldn’t find Mark,” Steve said.   
“We know, he is out,” Tony said with his head on the table.   
“What?” Steve asked.   
“Joseph took him out. They looked dressed nicely so maybe a bar or something,” Sam said.   
“You didn’t stop them?” Steve said angerly at Sam.   
Sam put his hands up, “Hey, I didn’t know you guys were doing this. I can’t control Mark and what he does,” Sam said.   
“Sorry,” Steve said taking a seat near Tony.   
“Well all that hard work for nothing,” Tony said looking up at everything. “Maybe we should leave it up to make him feel guilty,” Tony suggested.   
“We should,” Andrea agreed. “Bastard left without telling any of us.”  
“How was he going to tell us? His phone was busted remember?” Natasha reminded everyone.   
“Oh, right…good point,” Andrea said.   
Tony looked over at Steve who just stared at the gift. He felt bad for his friend. All things he was trying to do right went wrong, and all his opportunities were slipping through his fingers. Mark was now out with Joseph, and everyone knew Joseph was trying to get Mark’s attention. Who knew what they were doing.  
“Should we go out looking for him?” Tony asked.   
Andrea sighed, “We can take the north side while Natasha and Clint can start on the south side. Steve if you and Sam go from east to west we should cover all the places he goes in two hours,” Andrea said.   
“No,” Steve said looking up. “I let you guys clean up my mistakes too many times already. I will find him.”  
“Steve, that is a lot of ground to cover,” Tony said looking at him. Steve stood up and zipped up his leather jacket. “I am going to find him. You guys enjoy the food, you deserve it for all your help.” Steve left the room, and everyone heard the door slam.   
Tony just rested his head on the table again. Andrea took a seat next to him and rested her head near his.   
“This is one big mess, isn’t it?” Tony said with his face pressed against the table.   
“It sure is, but it also is really odd,” Andrea said lifting her head up.   
“It is odd,” Natasha said agreeing with Andrea.   
“What is odd about it? Steve messes up, we need to save his butt by helping him make it up to Mark, Something else happens to screw up our plans, and now Steve is playing hero. Sounds like a normal night to me,” Clint said sitting down.   
“You are an asshole, you know that?” Andrea said glaring at Clint. Clint just smiled accepting the insult as a compliment.   
Tony lifted his head, “Okay, I will ask, what is odd?”   
“Steve didn’t actually mess up. Mark understood what was going on for Steve and helped him with this plan. They both followed it, and now Mark is out with Joseph. He wouldn’t ask Joseph to go. If he did, then,” Andrea turned to Sam, “He would have invited Sam.”  
“Hmm,” Sam said thinking about earlier. “Now that you mention it, it looked more like Joseph was following Mark along. Mark was ready on his own and left before Joseph did. I assumed Mark was waiting outside, but he could have gone ahead, and Joseph followed.”  
“So, Mark isn’t trying to get into Joseph’s pants for his birthday gift?” Tony asked. Andrea slapped his arm.   
“What? We all had the thought cross our mind,” Tony said. Clint and Natasha nodded agreeing with Tony.   
“Fine,” Andrea said. “I will admit I was worried he was as well.”  
“I just didn’t have the heart to tell Steve,” Tony said.   
“None of us did,” Natasha said.   
“Well, who else is ready to eat and drink waiting up to hear how this tale ends?” Tony asked. Natasha prepared the drinks while Andrea got up to grab a plate. Tony turned to Sam.   
“Care to join us?” Tony asked.   
“Of course, I think we should take bets to see if Steve actually follows through and doesn’t screw things up?” Sam asked. Tony looked around at everyone who looked down hoping Steve wouldn’t screw this one up.   
“Nah, I think we are all betting and hoping Steve pulls through this time,” Tony said.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18  
Mark  
Mark walked into the bar. It was a quiet night, probably because it was in the middle of the week. Mark looked around and saw it was an okay crowd. He wanted to just relax and be alone, he figured it was better to do that at a bar somewhat filled with people instead of one which was dead. He walked over to the bar and took a seat. The bartender walked over and Stared at Mark for a second before asking “What can I get ya?” Mark knew he was staring at his scratches and a black eye, but he didn’t care.   
“Lemon drop shot and a vodka Sprite,” Mark asked as he reached into his pocket to pull out his money.   
“Make it two of each,” Mark heard as he saw a man put down some money on the bar. Mark looked over to see Joseph standing there smiling.   
“What are you doing here?” Mark asked with disdain in his voice.   
“Not happy to see a friend? Besides, I couldn’t let you go out looking like this,” Joseph said pointing to Mark’s eye. Mark made a face as he grabbed his drink.   
“I was hoping to be alone is what I mean,” Mark said.   
“It’s your birthday, you shouldn’t be alone,” Joseph said.   
The bartender brought over two shots and put them in front of Joseph and Mark. He took the money and walked away. Joseph grabbed his shot and raised it to Mark. “To your birthday,” Joseph said. Mark picked up his shot and tapped the glass to Joseph’s. Mark down the shot quickly and pushed it forward for the bartender to clean up.   
“Is this really how you want to spend the day?” Joseph asked.   
Mark looked around and then back to Joseph, “Actually, I was hoping to spend it alone, but you followed me.”  
“No one should be alone on their birthday,” Joseph said.   
“Yeah well, I wanted to spend it with someone, but as you can tell,” Mark gestured to his face, “plans changed.”  
“I guess it was the person who you used to wear that ring for,” Joseph said. Mark went quiet and didn’t even looked up from his drink. “That answers my question.”  
“What do you want Joseph?” Mark finally asked. “You have been pining for me for a while now. I thought you would be able to catch on that I am still in love with him. So why these games?”   
Joseph took a drink, “I know mate. I see you different than I remember you in London. Not sure what I want or expect. I just thought you would want the company of someone who isn’t afraid to show you how much he cares,” Joseph said reaching for Mark’s hand. Mark pulled away as soon as Joseph touched him.   
“You don’t know me, though. You know the stories of me, the legend of the great assassin. No one really knows me for who I am,” Mark said as he grabbed the straw and spun the ice in his cup with it the only person who really knew him that well was Steve.   
“That’s fair, but it won’t stop me from trying,” Joseph said with a smile. Mark looked over at Joseph and laughed at him smiling at him. “There, was that so hard to let the walls down?”  
“My walls are down until I have a reason to put them up,” Mark said taking a drink.   
“And when they are up, do they ever go down?” Joseph asked. Mark thought of the question. He would like to say yes, but the truth is he wasn’t sure. He thought maybe he put his walls up too much to keep Steve safe. He was afraid, and he hated admitting his fear.   
“Come on, mate, the music is good,” Joseph said standing up. Mark looked over at Joseph and raised an eyebrow at him. Before Mark could say anything, Joseph grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of his seat. Joseph was much stronger than he looked. Joseph pulled Mark to the dance floor.   
“And why are we here now? I was quite happy at the bar drowning my sorrows,” Mark said.   
“It’s your birthday,” Joseph protested.   
“And I will cry if I want to,” Mark said back. Joseph laughed and grabbed Mark spinning him.   
“Just enjoy yourself,” Joseph said. Mark let himself spin and began to move to the beat. He had to admit it was better than drowning his sorrows. He decided to just not fight it this time. Mark danced with Joseph while keeping his distance. Joseph tried to pull Mark in closer, but he protested it by dancing away a few beats in the song. Mark looked around while they danced and then he felt a memory hit him of the first time he danced with Steve. They spoke for the first time alone afterward, and Mark could tell how high Steve’s walls were at that time. Over time Steve let his walls down and let Mark in. Mark stopped dancing on the dance floor and looked over at the bar. It was the same bar he fought those assassins while Andrea and Steve watched. He remembered afterward how Steve pulled him close and admitted how jealous he was when Mark was on the dance floor with another man. The only phrase flooding Mark’s head now was “I will dance, only if it is with you.” Steve’s words. Steve being jealous. Steve letting him in even though he had been difficult over the years. Mark couldn’t take the thoughts much longer.   
He quickly went to the bar and put his still full drink on the counter. Mark zipped up his jacket and began to leave the bar. Mark walked outside and turned to head straight back to the mansion.   
“Hold on, mate. What happened?” Joseph said catching up.   
“Sorry, nothing you did. I just realized something important. I need to head back,” Mark said without looking back at Joseph.   
“Alright but just slow down,” Joseph said. Mark didn’t listen. He kept up his quick pace. Mark turned the corner and bumped into someone. Mark felt an elbow hit his eye. He grabbed his eye as he stepped back and felt someone grab him from falling backward.   
“Mark!” Mark heard, but he already knew who it was by his touch. Mark rubbed his eye and looked up at the blonde soldier standing there.   
“Are you okay? Oh, my god, I am so sorry, I should have watched where I was going...” Steve continued with his hands still on Mark’s side. Mark put his hand on Steve’s which caused Steve to stop.   
“It’s okay. I was rushing to get back to the mansion to see you anyway,” Mark said.   
Steve looked over to see Joseph behind Mark. Mark turned to Joseph. “Hey, can you give us a moment. We will see you back at the mansion,” Mark said.   
Joseph looked at Mark then at Steve. “Alright mate, get back soon. We still need to celebrate your birthday.” Joseph said as he walked around them in the direction of the mansion.   
Mark looked back at Steve and then to Steve’s hands. “You know, I don’t think I am going to fall now,” Mark said. Steve laughed and let go of Mark, slowly taking his hands away. Then Steve, looked around, “Damn,” Steve said.   
“You know, I have not heard you curse this much in my life,” Mark said. Steve ignored Mark and looked frantically around. Mark looked to the side and saw present in the grass. Mark reached over and picked it up. Steve sighed when he saw Mark holding it.   
“This was what you were looking for?” Mark asked.   
“It’s for you. I came looking for you. You’re hard to find. I wanted to make sure you got it on your birthday,” Steve said. Mark looked at the present and moved it around in his hands.   
“Did you make it in time?” Mark asked. Steve pulled out his phone. “11:56 pm, I made it,” Steve said. Mark laughed at Steve. He did make it in time, he always found a way.   
“You know you didn’t have to get me something. From what I knew, you didn’t know it was my birthday,” Mark said.   
“I know, but I wanted to. It’s not fancy. You will see. It is something you left behind when we decided to do this plan, a letter, and a picture,” Steve said.   
Mark looked down at the gift and back up at Steve, “Kind of ruined the surprise huh?” Mark said smiling.   
“It does, but you will see. I didn’t know what else would be good to give you right now. I want to give you more…but I didn’t know how to make it work with our plan,” Steve said. Mark knew what Steve meant, and he looked into his blue eyes.   
“Steve…” Mark began.   
“Steve Rogers!” They heard from behind them. Sharon Cater came walking up and grabbed Steve by the arm. “What are you doing out on a weeknight?” She asked looking at Steve then Mark questionably.   
“I was just…” Steve said lost for words not sure how to explain the situation.   
Mark could see Steve struggling to explain the situation. Mark thought for a moment, and then he did something he knew he didn’t want to do but was best for the situation. “We ran into each other. Steve was out for a walk after the rough debriefing. I was out at the bar,” Mark lied. Steve looked at Mark surprised, and Mark just looked from Steve to Sharon.   
“I heard it was a rough one. I see that mercenary did a number on you,” Sharon said pointing out Mark’s injuries. Mark thought many horrible things to say but instead said, “Well that’s why I needed a drink.”   
Mark smiled hoping she would buy the lie. Sharon looked down at the present in Mark’s hand. “And who got you the gift?” Sharon said.   
Mark looked down and didn’t know what to answer at first. He needed to come up with a quick lie. “It’s my birthday, so you know a close friend,” Mark said.   
“Oh Happy Birthday, so who was the friend?” Sharon asked.   
“Someone he holds close Sharon, don’t pry,” Steve said scolding her. Sharon looked at Steve and smiled.   
“I understand, it can be hard to talk about … since you're not wearing the ring anymore,” Sharon said.   
Mark looked down at his hand. He hoped not many people paid attention to him having a ring since they focused on Steve. “It’s complicated, but things are going well actually. I mean he got me this,” Mark said holding up the present, “which I didn’t expect at all.”  
Steve smiled at Mark.   
“I hope I wasn’t interrupting something if you were talking to Steve about it,” Sharon said.   
“No, we were just finishing,” Mark said.   
“Well in that case, why don’t I steal Steve from you? It's early, and it’s been a few weeks since I have seen you. What do you say?” Sharon said.   
“But it’s Mark’s…” Steve began.   
“Go,” Mark said. Steve looked at Mark surprised. “It’s okay. I spent these many years not knowing my birthday, another year not celebrating won’t be a big deal,” Mark said.   
Before Steve could say anything, Sharon pulled him along, “Good, don’t wait up for him. We will be out late.”  
Steve looked back at Mark. Mark just smiled as Steve walked with Sharon. Mark let out a sigh and reached into his pockets. He pulled out his music and headphones. He put in each headphone and turned to walk away. Mark took one step then turned around hoping Steve would be running after him. He saw no one there. He let out a bigger sigh and walked along the path to the mansion.   
Mark kept spinning the gift in his hands as he walked down the street. He couldn’t imagine what Steve gave him even though Steve told him what was in it. Mark felt his anxiety and curiosity increase with each step, but he already decided on opening the gift in his room.   
Mark could see the mansion in the distance but decided to keep walking. He had a full battery on his music and wanted to just zone out and not think. He couldn’t deal with someone yelling at him for missing his own birthday, and he knew that would happen when he arrived at the mansion. He would rather be yelled at tomorrow morning.   
Mark walked for miles. He didn’t know how late it was until the battery on his music read fifteen percent left. He decided to head back to the mansion at this time, walking with no music would have felt boring to him.   
By the time Mark got back to the mansion, it was around four in the morning. He stepped inside to the still light living room. Clint was passed out on the couch half dressed. Mark looked over to see Andrea and Tony cuddled together on another couch. Bucky, Natasha, and Steve were nowhere to be seen. Mark figured they were in their rooms asleep. Mark walked over and put a blanket on Clint and turned off the lights. Mark walked upstairs and turned down the hallway to his room. Mark looked back and could see the light still lite in Steve’s room. Mark wondered if he stayed up waiting for him to get home. Once Steve heard him going to his room, he would most likely go to bed. Mark walked into his room and turned on the light. He walked over to his bed and sat on it. He put the gift in front of him and stared at it. Mark picked it up and took a deep breath. He opened it.   
Mark turned it to the side and out fell Steve’s dog tags with three pieces of paper. Mark opened the small one attached to the dog tags first.   
“You left these when you moved out. I wanted you to have them. They always made you feel better, plus you wear them when you love the person, and I wanted you to have them.”   
Mark smiled and played with the dog tags in his hands. Mark then picked up the letter. He unfolded it and read it.   
Mark,  
I have no idea how to put into words how much I miss you. I hate seeing you every day and not having you near me. I know this is part of our plan, but it really kills me to not be able to touch you when I want to or sharer bed together.I know how tough this is for you too. I hate seeing you go through the same struggles as I do. I just want you to know I still love you. I think about you every second. You taught me so much about myself, and I know I can learn more and grow with you.   
I don’t think I do well with words, so I drew a picture to show you what I picture with us. I want to have the world with you, Mark. I know we will make it through this and I am thankful to have someone like you who not only understands it but will stick it out with me through all this pain. I hope you have a great birthday, sorry it wasn’t what I wed to give you for your special day.  
Love Steve  
Mark read the letter two more times. He knew Steve was honest in his writing, but he was hoping to find any clue as to what the picture would be that Steve drew. Mark put the letter aside and grabbed the picture. He held it up. He felt his eyes began to water. Steve drew a picture of what he always hoped would be with him and Steve. It was Mark and Steve in suits kissing. Steve made sure to show their wedding rings in the picture to show what special day Steve was thinking about. It was their wedding picture, or at least what Steve pictured it would be. Mark was shocked to realize it was what he pictured as well for him. He wiped away one of the tears that fell on the picture. He wanted to make this a reality. He didn’t realize how much he wanted this until he saw the picture. Mark put the picture aside and stared at his door for a minute.  
Mark didn’t know what to say at this moment. All he could think was that Steve was a fucking asshole for making him feel his feelings right now and not be near him to show him how much Mark cared about Steve. For being the man, he loved so much. Mark didn’t know what to do right now. He stood up and walked to the door. He opened it ready to walk down but stopped. There stood Steve in his pajamas ready to knock on Mark’s door.   
Mark just stared at Steve as he slowly put down his arm. There was a period of silence between them. Steve looked at Mark and just scratched the back of his head like he forgot the reason he came to Mark’s room. Steve was finally about to speak when Mark rushed forward and kissed Steve. Mark pushed Steve against the wall and didn't care about the plan anymore. He kissed Steve deeply, and he felt Steve dig into Mark’s back as Mark kissed him. Mark pulled from the kiss and ran his hand through Steve’s hair, then scratched the back of Steve’s head. Mark watched as Steve’s eyes closed when he did this.   
“You have no idea how much I missed all of this,” Steve said opening his eyes.   
Mark smiled as he leaned his head down on Steve’s chest and hugged him. “Thanks for the birthday present.”  
Steve rubbed Mark’s back. “I am glad you liked it. I told you, you would like it once you saw it.”  
“Is that all you wanted to give me? Maybe we can put the plan hold for one night?” Mark looked up hoping to win over Steve and have him put the plan on hold.   
Steve looked away when he answered Mark. “I can’t… I have a guest right now.”  
“A guest?” Mark asked picking up his head.   
“Yeah, Sharon kind of went overboard with drinks. She is in bed resting now. I couldn’t let her go home in that state. When I got her to bed, I heard you go to your room. I made sure she was asleep before I went to see you.”  
Mark looked down the hall and glared at Steve’s door.   
“What has you so angry?” Steve asked.   
“Is she on my side of the bed?” Mark asked maintaining his glare. Mark felt Steve run his hand through Mark’s hair. Mark looked over at Steve smiling.   
“I didn’t think I could make you jealous. I was always the one who couldn’t control how I felt about you. Not to mention you look cute when you are jealous.”  
Mark hid his smile. “Sorry.”  
“It’s okay. Plus I thought bringing Sharon back might get the heat off of them suspecting us. Thaddeus and Gabriel were pushing for Sharon and me to be a couple. This might make them ease up so we could have more time together.”  
“That was the plan,” Mark said.   
“I thought that was what you were doing when you pushed her on me earlier. You knew I would have said no to spend the rest of the night with you,” Steve said.   
“Yeah…That was the plan,” Mark said looking down.   
“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Steve asked.   
“No, you caught me. What can I say? But we should call it a night. She might wonder where you are if she does wake up. She might be drunk, but she is an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.”  
Steve pulled Mark in for one last kiss for the night. “I’m sorry this wasn’t as good of a birthday as you gave me. It will get better, I promise.” Steve slowly walked down the hall. Mark watched Steve as he walked to his bedroom door. Steve paused and looked back at Mark waving before he opened his door and walked in. Mark let out a sigh when Steve was out of sight. He walked back to his room and closed the door, leaning against it for a moment. “It did all go according to plan,” Mark said to himself. Mark walked over to his bed and fell on it. He grabbed Steve’s dog tags.  
Mark slowly played with the dog tags as he thought about everything. He knew this would be another sleepless night for him. Not only did he not have Steve near him but he had Steve’s present to remind him of how much he missed having Steve near him.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19  
Andrea  
“I am gonna kill him! I swear it,” Andrea said as she walked up the stairs.   
“You are not, stop exaggerating,” Tony said following Andrea trying to stop her from storming into Mark’s room.   
“No, I seriously am, or at least give him a matching black eye. How could he just avoid the party we set up for him and be out all night alone. What the hell is wrong with him?” Andrea shouted as she walked to Mark’s door. She banged on the door which caused it to swing open. She didn’t know it wasn’t closed fully.   
“Well, if he wasn’t up he sure is now, along with the rest of the house,” Tony said sighing. “Go punch him and make-up already. I need some coffee.”  
“Hush!” Andrea shouted at Tony. “My scourning process takes time, and he needs to feel the full extent of my wrath right now,” Andrea explained.   
“Then get on with it already,” Andrea heard from Mark’s room. She stormed in and stopped after a few steps. She could see Mark sitting on his bed looking at two pieces of paper. Andrea looked up and noticed the lights were still on in Mark’s room.  
“Did you sleep?” Andrea asked. Mark shook his head as he shifted sitting there. Andrea walked over and sat on the bed. “What’s up?” Andrea asked. Mark didn’t say a word, he just handed Andrea Steve’s letter. Andrea took the letter and read it to herself.   
“What’s it say?” Tony said walking in seeing Andrea read the letter. Andrea looked at Mark just fidgeting with the dog tags in his hand. Andrea handed Tony the letter.   
“Is this what kept you up all night?” Andrea asked.   
“No,” Mark said unfolding the picture and handing it to Andrea. “This is what kept me up all night.”  
Andrea recognized the picture. Steve showed it to her years ago, she didn’t know he still had it.   
“He said he drew it a while ago,” Mark said.   
“He did,” Andrea said. “He showed it to me the day he drew it. I was so happy when I saw it and what it meant.”  
Andrea could hear Mark take a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “Of course he did,” Mark said.   
“I don’t get it, how did this keep you up?” Andrea asked.   
Mark looked at the picture in her hand. “I just wonder now, will we ever get to that place. I mean we are hiding our relationship from the higher-ups at S.H.I.E.L.D. When will it happen?” Mark said. “I was just thinking about that, then before I knew it, the sun was up. Then I heard you shouting a few hours later, and here we are.”  
Andrea leaned against Mark and rested her head on his shoulder. “I don’t know how it got to this place. He is scared to come out to the people who know his past. He hurt you. He is trying though, and you haven’t closed him off. You’re even helping him through it. These are all good signs,” Andrea said.   
“He is scared, Mark,” Tony said. “All he has known is being Captain America to the public and to those people. He has a history with Sharon’s aunt. He didn’t know it was okay to just be himself when he was with Bucky. Really this is new to him, being Steve Rogers. He was spoiled in a way where we all enjoy that side of him, but the others… He might need you to continue this for a while longer.”  
“I don’t know if I can,” Mark said grabbing the picture and holding it up. “If this happens, what am I suppose to do when he is scared? Hide what we are? Hide the person I care about? Be told he is engaged to a woman who he wants kids with?”  
“Wait, what?” Andrea said stunned. “How the fuck did we get to kids?”   
Mark sighed. “That little boy I saved. Steve saw me with him at the ambulance. You should have seen how he looked at me. He saw that little boy laughing and smiling even though he faced something really scary. He just watched as that little kid held onto me wondering what was going on. Then the kid met his hero and told his mom about how I was an Avenger. I never saw Steve smile so much. He wants something I don’t know if I can ever give to him.”  
Andrea looked over at Tony who felt the weight of the conversation as well and sat down on the bed next to Andrea. “What do you mean you can’t ever give to him?” Andrea asked.   
Mark laughed. “Come on, we all know where babies come from,” Mark said looking down. “If that’s what he does want I can’t give that to him.” Andrea watched as Mark fidgeted with the dog tags again.   
“Nonsense,” Tony said. “You have me here, I can find a way for you guys to have a kid. I mean science has helped us so far.”  
“I am not sure if a robot will help Tony,” Andrea said. “But Tony does have the right idea,” Andrea said looking at Mark. “You guys can find a way if that is what you want.”  
“And you wouldn’t mind being an aunt?” Mark asked.   
“Hell no! I will be the best aunt ever. It’s not my kid, and you will be dealing with the tough stuff, not me. I get to be the cool, fun aunt and Tony can be the cool uncle,” Andrea said leaning back against Tony smiling.   
“I am not against that in any way what so ever. I mean we already are pretty damn awesome,” Tony said.   
Mark laughed. “Aren’t you suppose to be giving me a black eye to match the one I already have? I feel like that would be more enjoyable than going through all this,” Mark said. Andrea playfully tapped him on the opposite side of his face from his black eye.   
“There, the deed is done. Come on, if you aren’t going to rest you need some food. We have mentoring to do today with our kiddos,” Andrea said standing up.   
“Alright, let me change, and I will meet you guys downstairs,” Mark said leaving the spot he probably spent most of the night sitting.   
Andrea and Tony left the room and walked down the hallway.   
“So do you think they can get back to that place?” Tony asked Andrea.   
“I do,” Andrea said smiling. “I mean there will be a few bumps,” Andrea said as she turned to go down the stairs. “But they can get there. Mark wants it more than he is letting on. He hasn’t shut out Steve. Instead, he is helping him through this, which is huge. I just hope Steve doesn’t mess this up…” Andrea froze in her spot after she finished her sentence.   
Tony looked from Andrea to the table and saw Sharon Carter sitting there dressed in Steve’s pajamas. Andrea’s brain just froze, she didn’t know how to process what was happening in front of her. Sharon sat there drinking coffee as Steve made pancakes for breakfast. Andrea saw Sam walked past her and stop in his footsteps. He was just as lost as she was.   
“It’s like watching a car crash,” Sam said to Andrea. “I don’t know what happened, but I just see disaster.”  
“Well here is hoping someone won’t be dead by the end of breakfast,” Tony said stepping forward to take a seat.   
“I might be hoping someone will be dead by the end of breakfast,” Andrea said under her breath. She went to grab a cola and sat next to Tony. Andrea’s leg was shaking as she sat there. She kept looking at Steve then at the entryway to see how Mark would react. Andrea had a few scares when Joseph walked in, but she knew the situation was bad when Clint and Natasha walked in and froze at the entryway. Clint tried to walk out of the room, but Natasha grabbed him dragging him to the table to sit down. The last person to join was Rhody who was oblivious to the whole situation happening.   
“Why is everyone so tense?” Rhody asked Tony. Andrea heard the conversation and leaned in to listen.   
“Just wait and see, and you will know why” Tony answered. Rhody just nodded and looked around. Everyone was staring at either Sharon or Steve. Andrea couldn’t take the tension anymore.   
“So I will ask,” Andrea said. “Sharon, why are you hear this morning, in Steve’s pajamas?”  
“I stayed the night,” Sharon answered. “Steve was kind enough to lend me some clothes. It’s tough to sleep in a dress.”  
“She was really drunk last night, and I couldn’t send her home. We were close to the mansion, so I let her stay here,” Steve said. Andrea could tell by Steve’s tone how uncomfortable he felt answering the question. “good” was all Andrea thought of the situation. Steve will feel really uncomfortable explaining this to Mark.   
“Is it that big of a deal?” Sharon asked.   
“Yes, yes it is,” Tony said. Steve quickly looked at Tony to quiet him. Andrea leaned in to whisper, “We shouldn’t out him. We can’t save him in this situation.”  
Tony nodded and sighed. Steve put the plates in front of everyone, and Andrea looked around to see people eating very little. She didn’t have an appetite either after this show.   
“I don’t know why you guys are so shocked. Is it that uncommon to see Steve bring home a lady friend?” Sharon asked.   
Tony was about to answer, but Andrea elbowed him to stop him. Sharon looked over and saw the gesture.   
“We are old friends. We were just catching up. I forgot how much fun Steve can be when he is just himself,” Sharon said.   
“What did you guys do?” Clint asked. Andrea shot him a glare and Natasha did the same.   
“We just went out dancing and had drinks. Like Steve said, I had a few too many. I forgot he can’t get drunk. So I stayed here. It was nice to have a gentleman with me for the night,” Sharon said smiling at Steve as he sat down.   
“If I ate any of the pancakes, I would be throwing up right now,” Andrea said.   
“I think that is why no one is eating,” Tony whispered.   
Sharon leaned in and hugged Steve’s arm. Andrea could see Steve was uncomfortable, but he didn’t stop her. Sharon leaned in and kissed Steve on the lips. Andrea heard about four forks fall to their plates when this happened. She would have thrown up at this moment if she ate anything. She felt a gag or two come up actually. Then Andrea saw someone walk by behind her. She quickly looked and saw Mark walking by. She felt her stomach drop. Did Mark see that? When did he walk in? Was he going to say something?  
“Mark,” Steve said standing up. “Did you want a plate?”   
“No,” Mark said with a smile. “I am actually running late. I came to get some soda and a snack.”  
Mark grabbed a can of soda and went to look for something in the refrigerator. Steve walked over to Mark to help. While Steve was next to Mark, Andrea watched Mark slip a note in Steve’s pocket. Andrea wondered what it was and she looked around and saw Natasha noticed this as well. Mark grabbed an apple and began to leave. “See ya guys,” Mark said as he left the kitchen.   
“You guys train the Young Avengers solo today right?” Sharon asked.   
“Yeah, we all meet with them today to do special training on their skills,” Clint answered.   
“Well then I won’t be in the way,” Sharon said standing up. Steve walked over to grab her plate, and she leaned in and kissed Steve on the cheek. “I will go change and head home,” she said as she left the room. Everyone waited to be sure she was upstairs before looking at Steve.   
“Well,” Tony said taking a sip of his coffee. “That was a car accident like you said, Sam.”  
“Please tell me you didn’t do anything with her,” Natasha asked.   
“No! Of course not,” Steve answered. “She was drunk. What else should I have done?”  
“Called a cab? Walked her home? Not bring the skank home?” Andrea asked. Natasha walked over to Steve and stood a few inches from him. Everyone was tense waiting to see what she would do, Andrea even found herself looking to make sure no knives were near Natasha. Natasha then reached into Steve’s pocket and pulled out the note. Steve reached for it, but Natasha moved away faster than he could respond. She opened the note and read it. Andrea watched as Natasha smiled and let out a small laugh and folded the note again. She handed it to Steve. Steve took it.   
“He knows…”  
“You don’t need to say anything,” Natasha said cutting Steve off. “He already defended you. Sorry for giving you a hard time.” Natasha put her hand on Steve’s arm and smiled. Steve let out a small smile as he looked down.   
“Thanks,” Steve said.   
“Wait are you telling me…” Andrea asked, and Natasha nodded answering Andrea’s question before she could finish asking it.   
“Sometimes it scares me he knows how well we will react,” Clint said as he took a drink of coffee.   
“I agree,” Tony said nodding his head. “I wonder how far ahead he is planning.”  
Andrea turned her attention to Tony. “You think he is planning things now? But how would he have known Sharon would come home with Steve?”  
“Why would he go out drinking with a black eye knowing we would do something for his birthday? Did he know Sharon was out?” Tony asked. Everyone looked stunned by the questions and turned to Steve.   
“I mean we ran into her while out,” Steve said as he tried to remember the other night. “He did push for me to go out with Sharon. But do you think he planned this all? I mean he looked upset when I told him she was here. He was jealous she was on his side of the bed.”  
“Yeah, he would get jealous of that,” Andrea said turning back to Tony. “Do you really think he would plan this? I mean he is a good tactician, but Mark never planned something this far ahead.”  
“I don’t know,” Tony said taking a sip of his coffee.  
Andrea glared staring at Tony. “You know something…”  
Tony looked at Andrea while drinking his coffee. “Are you admitting Mark would tell me something and keep it a secret from you?”  
Andrea was about to speak but stopped herself, turning her head to Steve with her mouth still open and holding her figure up at Tony. “So what did the note say.”  
Steve opened the note to read it out loud. “Natasha: Please don’t stick your hands in my boyfriend’s pockets again. Trust him. He knows what he is doing. We need to throw off Thaddeus and Gabriel. Same for everyone else, trust Steve. I do.” Steve smiled as he read the last part. Andrea turned to Tony again. She was thinking of what he said earlier. Did Mark plan all this? It looked like everything was in his hands right now.   
“Sorry Steve,” Andrea finally said. “I guess this wasn’t a car accident like Sam said.”  
“Yeah, but now I am worried,” Sam replied. “There is no way Mark could have predicted Steve would act that way at the Young Avengers event weeks ago. So how is he planning it now?”  
Sam was right. Mark couldn’t know how Steve was going to behave. He was caught off guard by it all, and they all saw it on his face. “You never told him before that event right?” Andrea asked Steve.   
“Do you need to remind me of how I hurt Mark?” Steve said.   
“That’s a no,” Natasha said looking over to Andrea. “This is really weird though. What is going on?”   
“So wait? None of us know if he is planning something?” Andrea asked looking around. Everyone just had a confused look on their faces.   
“I still don’t know what is really going on,” Rhody said.   
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Tony stated sarcastically.  
“I don’t think he would keep all of us in the dark,” Steve said looking back at the note.   
“He did before, we have souvenirs from Asgard to prove it,” Tony answered. Tony was right, and now Andrea felt her anxiety go up as she thought of it more. Mark wouldn’t plan something without all of them knowing what is going on again. She thought he learned his lesson when he saw Steve die in front of him.   
“I can ask him,” Steve said. “But he said to trust me in the note. Maybe he thinks I have a plan.”  
“Do you?” Andrea asked.   
Steve shook his head. “Least not yet.”  
Andrea sighed. “Well,” she said as she got up to get a plate, “I guess we wait and see. We know the two brutes are planning something. Maybe Mark is waiting for them to make a move and will tell us then.”  
“Maybe. He said to trust me, but maybe we should trust him right now. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt any of us,” Steve said as he walked out fo the kitchen. “I am going to check on Sharon.”  
“Tell her to back down on the kissing. It’s hard for me to watch, I can only imagine how hard it is for Mark,” Andrea said as she put more food on her plate. Steve just nodded as he left the room.   
“We need to trust both Mark and Steve right now,” Natasha said as she stood near Andrea.   
Andrea looked at Natasha then at the empty entry way. “We don’t have much of a choice than to trust them.”


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20  
Tony  
Tony was working in his lab for the afternoon. He had Peter working on his own experiments at Stark Industries. He had other people overseeing and helping Peter where he needed it. Tony wanted him to present only finished products to him when it came to mentoring him. Tony had his own way of honing the skills of the young scientist. Truth be told, he also needed to be alone in his lab after today. Tony did not know what to do with any of what happened this morning. Andrea was training Wasp and Tigra in the training room. She needed to get her anger out in other ways.   
Tony wasn’t avoiding Steve, but Tony was stuck thinking about what Andrea asked him earlier. How far did Mark have this planned? Tony couldn’t shake a few things from his mind about the attack at the mall, all the thoughts centered around Mark. Tony found himself pulling up the video feed from the explosion and looking to how Mark was able to take the brunt of the explosion. No matter how much Tony tried to explain away the events which occurred, the questions still stirred in his head.   
Tony was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs to the lab. Tony was prepared to tell Peter, again, that he needed to work at Stark Industries and Tony would go to see all the work he has done once Peter was finished. Tony looked up with a scowl which faded as he saw Steve standing there. Steve looked worried at first until Tony’s scowl faded   
“I thought you were mad at me like the others,” Steve said as he continued walking down the stairs.   
“Nah, I thought you were my shadow, also known as my mentee. He always wants to stay down here to work on his projects. He can’t be in my space,” Tony said as he turned back to the computer.  
“You always complained that the world should be more like Tony Stark. You finally find someone like you and you realize how annoying Tony Stark can actually be,” Steve said in jest to Tony. Tony glared at Steve.   
“We both know he is no Tony Stark. Peter is smart I will give him that, but not sure if he will be able to take over Stark Industries if something happens.”  
Steve was stunned by the statement. “You are hoping to find a successor to Stark Industries?”  
Tony waved his hand in the air dismissing the question. “It’s only a thought. At this rate, I will need to be alive for as long as Mark in order to find a try successor.” Tony grabbed his coffee and turned to look at Steve. “So what brings you down here.  
“Honestly, I needed to talk to someone who wasn’t confused by Mark’s actions. Everyone is fighting the emotions between being mad at me and understanding this is all part of the plan Mark, and I came up with. I figured you would be the one to understand his actions the best since you always said you thought the same way as he did at times.”  
Tony took a sip of his coffee. It was true, Tony and Mark thought similarly when it came to the choices they made. Tony was always one to defend Mark when he would go off on one of his crazy plans. This made Tony worry more about his previous questions.   
“You’re quiet. Don’t tell me you're confused as well,” Steve said with a sigh. “If everyone going to be in an internal conflict in this house. I thought it would just be me.”  
“Not in an internal conflict, just wondering. You’re right, I do think similarly to Mark, and it just has me thinking and slightly worried,” Tony said.   
“Worried?” Steve asked. “What would you be worried about?”  
“We will get to that Steve, first tell me what is the plan you and Mark came up with. Maybe that can shed some light on my worries.”  
Steve hesitated for a moment before he took a seat in the chair near Tony. “It’s not a complex plan. He said it to me the night he came back from London. We need to throw off Thaddeus and Gabriel. We first talked about taking off our rings. I hated to do it, but we both agreed the rings led to too many questions from everyone around us. Next Mark said I should flirt more with Sharon, at least be around her more.”  
Tony nodded his head, “Which is why you brought her home. I believed you when you said nothing happened. I mean with the limited stories you told me of your adventures in bed with Mark, I figured not much would be done with Sharon.”  
Steve looked down to hide his blush. “I was hoping to keep those stories as limited as possible so you couldn’t figure it out.”  
“You did a good job, you just forget Mark tells Andrea and Natasha everything. I couldn’t get anything out of Natasha, but Andrea was more than willing to tell me all the details,” Tony said leaning back. Steve let out a small laugh as he looked away. Tony could tell Steve was more embarrassed now.   
“I should have guessed Andrea would know all the details,” Steve said.   
“And you should be fine talking about it with your best friend. I told you before if you are willing to sit through my past stories of sexual conquest, I am willing to hear yours. I have to say, was very interested to hear your side of the vacation you took. From what Andrea heard, you were a bit of a wild man.”  
“Tony, are your worries really centered on my sex life?” Steve asked in a stern voice.   
“Not at all, just lightening the mood,” Tony said as he sat up to his computer. “I have been thinking about a few things since the attack at the mall. Mark took a really brutal hit from the explosion.”  
“Don’t remind me, that day made me think he was lost again because he was protecting the kids. Luckily he made it out with just a few bruises and scratches,” Steve said leaning forward.   
“But isn’t that curious?” Tony said as he pulled up the video feed. “Look at this,” Tony played the video feed for Steve. Both watched as they saw Mark slide in and cover the kid from being hurt. Then Mark stood up still protecting the kid then turned to the side. A flash went on the screen, and Mark went flying to the side. Tony switched the cameras to the storefront. They continued to watch as Mark flew through the glass storefront then smashed through a stone pillar. The ceiling then began to collapse before the video feed cut out. Tony turned to Steve when the video was done. Steve wore a forlorn look on his as he leaned back in his chair.   
“Thanks for having me watch what really happened in the mall,” Steve said with a slight tone of anger.   
Tony was stunned Steve just accepted the video as truth. “You really believe all that happened and Mark walked away with bruises, black eye, and a few scratches? Nothing more? Look at this,” Tony pulled the video feed from the storefront again. Steve leaned in as Tony began to write a few numbers down on the screen.   
“The pillar is about ten inches thick. And Mark smashed completely through it. Do you know how much force that takes? And he only walked away with a few bruises.” Tony continued his explanation as he pulled up more evidence, and he noticed Steve leaning in more as he continued to explain. “The glass front he smashed through. It is about an inch and a half thick from the glass shards we found. He smashed through that and then went through the pillar, but again, only scratches and bruises.”  
Steve looked closer to the video, and then he sat back. Tony watched as Steve put his hand to his chin. Steve then looked at Tony. “What do you think it means?”  
Tony leaned back in his chair. “That’s what I have been trying to figure out. I didn’t show this to anyone else. I didn’t know how Andrea would take all this. And I didn’t know who else to bring it up to. I mean Andrea was confused at breakfast. She wondered did Mark have this planned. From what I am gathering, he might have.”  
“Tony,” Steve said letting his hand fall from his chin. “Mark couldn’t predict Sharon being out when I found him. I mean Mark was followed by Joseph. How was he suppose to know it would have been Joseph to take him back to the Mansion and not me? We all would have put money on me being the one to do it. And then I literally ran into him when I went looking for him. We ran into each other while walking. He couldn’t have planned that.”  
Tony turned to look at the video feed. “You do raise good points. But stick with me for a second,” Tony said adjusting his chair to face Steve. “He told you about the idea of flirting with Sharon before the attack at the mall, right?”   
Steve nodded his head agreeing with Tony.  
“What if he made a plan to flirt more with Joseph. I mean we all know Joseph fancies Mark. It would be the same plan,” Tony noticed Steve hold the chair tighter as he explained but he ignored Steve and continued. “Mark can’t hide his sexuality like you can now. He made it clear at the event for the Young Avengers. He announced it in front of Thaddeus and Gabriel. He can’t backtrack. Him flirting with Joseph would do the same as you being with Sharon. It would throw the board members off.”  
Steve was taking in what Tony was saying. Tony was feeling some excitement as he saw the thought process being said out loud to another person and making sense. He was beginning to think he was going insane for a brief period.   
“But wouldn’t he tell me?” Steve asked.   
“Would you have allowed it if he did say it out loud?” Tony asked. Tony looked down at the chair and noticed Steve was beginning to break the armrests of the chair with how tightly he held them.   
“Even if this is all true, how would it explain the attack at the mall. For all this to make sense, Mark needed to know about that attack,” Steve said looking at the computer.   
Tony was about to speak, but then he stopped himself. Tony turned to look at the computer screen. “That’s true.” Tony leaned back in his chair. “That is the one part that doesn’t fit. There is no way Mark could have predicted that attack. I thought it was even weird he was at the mall that day. It was his day off from training, since when does he go to the mall.”  
“Tony,” Steve said as he sighed. Tony turned to Steve to listen. “It was his birthday. He might have been at the mall to find something special to do or wear for the day. We had a date set up, and he always finds ways to surprise me.”  
“True,” Tony said. And there was no way to deny the fact that it was Mark’s birthday. Tony did the carbon dating himself in this very lab. Tony’s might then formed a thought. He turned and leaned to his computer. Tony quickly began typing and bringing up the program he used to find Mark’s age.   
“Tony what are you doing…”   
“Shhh…” Tony said cutting Steve off. Steve leaned in and realized Tony was trying to figure something out on his computer. Tony pulled up the program and went to the drawer and then pulled out a small computerized analysis machine. Tony scratched Steve’s arm with it.   
“Ow, Tony what are you…”  
“Give me a minute,” Tony said again cutting Steve off. Tony let the machine begin his analysis and then leaned back. Steve was sitting there in silence as they both waited. Tony continued to look at the screen as he saw it loading. Tony could feel his anxiety begin to increase and the percentage number increased. Finally, the program finished and showed the date July 4th, 1920.   
“So that’s the machine you used to find out Mark’s birthday? Why did you use it on me?” Steve asked.   
Tony leaned back and rested his chin on his hand. “I just thought maybe it would read another date. I don’t know Steve, for a second I thought Mark was able to hack it.”  
Steve began to laugh. “Mark hack something without you or Andrea knowing? You two are the best minds when you work together, how would he even be able to do it…”  
“He did before when he broke into Stark Industries remember,” Tony said cutting Steve off. Steve stopped his sentence as he remembered that day. “But he had tools, and he wasn’t in your personal lab. He couldn’t do it alone.”  
“For a moment I thought maybe Andrea has been helping him with all this,” Tony said. “I am looking at all possibilities. What it comes down to is Mark isn’t working alone. And it still doesn’t explain how he got out of this without any serious injuries.”  
“Maybe you are overthinking this Tony,” Steve said.   
Tony turned to Steve in disbelief. “Are you really saying you don’t find it weird with everything I just showed you?”  
Steve shook his had. “No, I think it is weird, but let's not discount the fact Mark is really lucky sometimes.”  
Tony just blinked as the words left Steve’s mouth. “Enlighten me.”  
“I could use examples from you,” Steve said. “There have been times where you have just landed wrong with the Iron Man suit and sustained serious injuries. And other times you were hit and smashed through a building only being left with a few scratches yourself.”  
Tony again was going to speak but stopped himself. Tony turned to look at the computer screen. He pulled up the image of the concrete pillar once again. “Fair point but this is plain and simple math Steve. How is this possible?”  
Steve shrugged his shoulders. “What do you think happened for him to get away with only bruises and scratches?”  
Tony was worried to say what he was really thinking. It was really impossible, but it was the only thing that could explain what happened and other things which left Tony with unanswered questions.   
“Well?” Steve asked.   
Tony sighed, “Alright but before I saw it I wanted to show you something.” Tony got up and went to where his broken machines were. He dug through the pile and pulled out the helmet Mark wore to get his memories back. Tony walked over and put it in the table. “Remember this?”  
“Yes,” Steve said staring at the helmet in anger. “That thing put Mark through so much pain. Do you know I still have nightmares of him screaming from pain?”  
“Sorry about that,” Tony said as he turned the helmet. “See this?” Tony pointed out an area of the helmet which looked like it short-circuited.   
“Yeah, that must have been where the sparks came from. Andrea said some water might have gotten into the helmet to cause that.”  
“Yeah about that,” Tony said rubbing the back fo his head. “Listen I didn’t tell Andrea this, so it stays between us.”  
Steve looked up stunned by the confession. “What happened Tony?”  
“Mark died in there, Steve,” Tony said. Tony braced himself for a punch or Steve shouting at him. But nothing came. Tony just looked at Steve. Steve went white.  
“What?” Steve said stunned.  
“The circuits did get water in them. Remember the big one at the end? When that one went off, I lied. Well not fully. When it went off, we all froze. You guys from the spark, I froze because Mark’s brain activity and heartbeat stopped. I didn’t know what to say, but then after a few seconds it all came back.”  
Steve looked back at the helmet as he took in the information. “Why are you telling me this?”   
“Ever since that day Steve, I could not figure it out how he survived. Then this happened and…”  
“And what Tony?” Steve asked insistently.   
“I can only find one explanation to all of this,” Tony took a seat and pulled it closer to Steve. “Steve…what if Mark is getting his powers back?”  
Steve stared at Tony and Tony felt the tension build as he started to think Steve believed him. Then Steve burst out into laughter. Tony just leaned back in defeat, he figured this would be the common reaction.   
“Come on Tony, Mark getting his powers back? How is that even possible? He gave them up to save me remember. If he didn’t lose his powers, then I would be dead. Mark always says he…”  
“Can’t bring the dead back,” Tony said finishing Steve’s sentence. “But…what if he can Steve? And he needed the amulet to help him? Mark said the more severe the injury, the longer it takes him to get his powers back. What if it took over a year?”  
“He can’t resurrect the dead Tony. Don’t forget, the amulet had an inscription on it. It would grant a wish if something can be equal value can be exchanged for the request. Mark said it himself. His powers were priceless to all others in this world and others, but I was worth more to him.”  
“Which would mean his powers were not enough to be of equal value,” Tony said as a counter. Steve was silent for a moment.   
“I mean that is true but How else can you explain it?” Steve asked.   
“Mistranslation? I mean Mark based it off of translations in this world. For all we know they could be wrong,” Tony said.   
“How long have you been thinking about this?” Steve asked.   
“Since the day he got his memories back. Like I said I told no one. I didn’t have the heart to tell Andrea that Mark died in the tank. She would have killed me,” Tony said with a sigh.   
“How probably do you think this all is? I mean Mark is known to plan ahead but to plan this far ahead? He couldn’t do it on his own. Plus you just checked the program, Mark didn’t hack it. There are holes in this story, Tony,” Steve said standing up.   
“I know Steve, but you wanted to know what I was thinking about. You opened this pandora’s box,” Tony said smiling.   
Steve sighed. “We got bigger things to worry about. We need to find that mercenary that attacked the mall and also figure out what to do about Thaddeus and Gabriel. Not to mention we have the retreat coming up.”  
“I was hoping we could talk them out of it,” Tony said.   
“I think it will be good for the kids. It will be good for the team, too,” Steve said as he played with the helmet in front of him.   
“Are you going to be okay with not being near Mark? I mean you barely can handle it here in the mansion, and now you are going to have to spend a weekend without having Mark by your side.”   
Steve didn’t answer Tony. Tony was wondering if Steve could answer him right now.   
“I don’t have a choice but to be okay, Tony,” Steve finally said as he stepped away from the table. “I will figure it out. Thanks for the chat. Even though I heard your crazy theory, it helped me get my mind off of all this for a little while.”  
“No problem,” Tony said as he turned his chair to look at his computer. “That’s what my crazy theories are for.”  
“And I will try not to be so secretive to you in the future about Mark and me. I don’t know if I will be able to say things like Mark does to Andrea…”  
“Andrea will just fill in the parts you leave out. No worries. And thanks. Good chat,” Tony said. Tony heard Steve as he went up the stairs. Tony waited until he heard the door close as he pulled up the video feed once again. He put down his coffee mug. “Only it’s not a crazy theory, is it?”


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21  
Mark  
“Ready to give it another try?” Mark asked. Wanda was out of breath, but she got ready by putting her hands up. Wanda nodded.   
Mark pulled the pin from a smoke grenade and throw it near Wanda. The smoke began to rise. Wanda was working to manipulate the smoke and move it to her will. Mark watched as the smoke went from shooting out of the grenade all at once as it was forming into a tornado and funneling upwards.   
“You’re picking this up really fast,” Mark said as he looked up to the smoke. Mark realized he spoke too soon as the smoke began to break through and lose form. Mark looked back to Wanda who sat on the ground and was exhausted. Mark walked over to Wanda.   
“Sorry, I’m not used to exhausting so much energy,” Wanda said. “I guess I am not as strong as I thought.”  
“I wouldn’t say you are exhausting your energy,” Mark said as he looked a seat next to Wanda.   
“What do you mean?” Wanda asked. Mark reached into his back and pulled out a sandwich for Wanda. She took it, and Mark began to speak.   
“You still have a lot more power left. This is the first time you need to focus it and not just blast out the energy randomly. So what you are feeling tired from is using your muscles and mind to control your powers. No worries you will get it with practice,” Mark said as he took a bite of his sandwich.   
“Is that why I feel like I want to nap?” Wanda asked.   
“Yup. It takes a strong mind to be able to control and regulate your output of energy. Once you get it, it will be easy, and you will only use as much energy as needed when in fights,” Mark said as he leaned against a tree. It was nice to be out in the woods practicing. It was also the only place which he and the others could practice away from the mansion without scaring people in the city.   
“How long did it take you to get control of your powers?” Wanda asked as she got comfortable as well.   
Mark thought for a moment. “To have full control, it took me a couple of years. I had a different power than you of course. Plus I was the only one fo my kind. Back then not many people knew how to help me control my powers. It will be less for you though,” Mark said smiling. “Your powers are much easier to realize how they are being controlled. I had my strength, speed, and endurance to manage. It was tough for me to know how to regulate them. Plus my teachers were a bit worried I would accidentally kill someone in practice.”  
There was a short period of silence before Wanda finally asked, “Did you accidentally kill anyone?”   
“Nope came close though. I mean it happens when you have a dangerous ability. Luckily I had teachers to help me break away before I made the finishing blow. Don’t worry, that’s why Strange asked me to train you. He knew I could handle it.”  
Wanda smiled. Then she turned as they heard a noise.   
“Sounds like your brother is still training. But poor Bucky isn’t doing a good job for him,” Mark said.   
Wanda turned back to Mark, “You can tell?”   
Mark nodded, “The amount of footsteps Pietro is taking tells me. He is not planning his attacks. He is going to get…” before Mark could finish the sentence they heard a slam. Mark sighed. “Sounds like Bucky caught him.” Mark stood up from the ground. Mark grabbed his bag. “Come on, let's bring them their lunch. I think your brother might be down for a bit.”  
Wanda stood up to follow Mark. Mark lead the way through the woods. It was a short walk, but they finally found Bucky and Pietro. Bucky stood there leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. Pietro was on the ground out of breath. Mark reached into his bag and handed Wanda a bottle of water and another sandwich. She took it and went to her brother.   
Mark walked over to Bucky. Mark smiled as he handed Bucky a sandwich.   
“Did you need to be so tough on the kid?” Mark asked.   
“And everyone thought you would be the tough one for the kids. He needed to learn that he can’t rely on his speed alone to dodge an attack. He just learned the lesson the hard way,” Bucky unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. Mark sighed as he walked to Pietro and Wanda.   
“And injuries?” Mark asked.   
Pietro just looked down as he took a drink of water. Wanda sighed as she looked up at Mark. “Just his pride,” Wanda said.   
Mark kneeled down and looked at Pietro. “So what did you learn from that?” Mark asked.   
Pietro thought for a moment. He looked around to try and figure out an answer. “Not sure,” Pietro said. “I would think that the super soldier serum helps Bucky be able to see my movements better.”  
Mark turned his head at Bucky and made a face.   
“What?” Bucky said with a mouthful. Bucky swallowed his bite before he continued. “He is partly right.”  
Mark stood up. “The point is for him to learn about his abilities, not yours. He won’t be able to learn about each opponent when he faces them before he can figure out how to attack. At this rate, you are teaching to die just to gain knowledge.”  
“He is still learning. And what do you expect? He isn’t my Mentee. You asked me to fill in for Clint. I am not a teacher like you,” Bucky said taking another bite. “Or a good cook like you. I see why everyone missed ya around the mansion when you lost your memories.”  
“Ha Ha, Bucky,” Mark said walking over to Bucky. “And give yourself credit. You learned how to be a good spy and gunman all on your own. You also are good at hand to hand combat. I saw you fight Steve and Andrea.”  
“Yeah well,” Bucky said looking down at his sandwich. “I’m not good at this mentoring stuff.”   
“It’s fine. You did teach him the hard lesson to not rely just on his speed,” Mark said looking back at the twins eating their food. “You just need to teach him to realize it in a better way. When you catch him in full speed like you did, he might think it was a fluke or something.”  
“Well, how would you do it all wise one?” Bucky said as a challenge.   
“Simple,” Mark said reaching down and picking up a rock. Mark walked over to the twins. They looked up at Mark when he stood near.   
“Ready for me to show you the lesson Bucky was trying to teach you?” Mark asked Pietro. Pietro looked scared for a moment. He turned to look at Wanda.   
“Don’t worry, he will teach you. It might wear you out, but you won’t get hurt like you did before,” Wanda said.   
“Your brother still learned an important lesson,” Bucky said in his defense. Mark just smiled and shook his head.   
“Wanda is right, you won’t get hurt. It’s a simple task really,” Mark said giving his hand for Pietro to grab.   
“Alright,” Pietro said grabbing Mark’s hand. When Pietro was pulled up, Mark walked a few steps away from Pietro.   
“The task is simple. Grab the rock from me,” Mark said smiling.   
Pietro was confused. He hesitated. “That’s it? Just get the rock from you? You won’t be fighting me will you?”  
“I will grab your arm or wrist to stop you, but no punches or kicks, and most importantly, I won’t slam you into the ground when I catch you,” Mark looked at Bucky when he said this. Bucky just shrugged his shoulders as he ate his food. Mark turned back to Pietro. “Ready when you are.”   
Pietro stood there for a moment. Mark knew Pietro was waiting for the moment to strike and win this game quickly. Then Pietro moved in a blur. In a flash, Pietro stood near Mark with Mark’s hand holding Pietro’s wrist, but the rock was not in Mark’s hand. Pietro looked and saw the rock in Mark’s other hand. Pietro moved in another flash again but found his other hand caught by Mark’s wrist but looked around to try and find the rock. Wanda began to laugh as she walked over to Mark and Pietro.   
Pietro looked at his sister, “What is so funny? He clearly threw it.”  
“After training with him once I knew he would be creative,” Wanda said as she reached up and grabbed the rock which sat on Mark’s head. Pietro was shocked he didn’t see it move there. It would have flown up there, but he was focused on where it was and tried to use his speed to get the rock.   
“Starting to get it? If you go against an opponent with experience,” Mark said looking to Bucky, “then you are going to have to think creatively. Your speed gives you an advantage, but it can easily be used against you when you are predictable.”  
Mark let go of Pietro as he looked at Wanda. Pietro grabbed the rock from here then nodded. “Am I that predictable?”  
“You’re young, so yes. You think you can win a fight fast by just going in and attacking. You try to be clever by going to the side or by running past then turning quickly to come in another direction but…”  
“But you can pick-up the skills in time,” Bucky said walking up to the others. “Maybe we can show them what they will build their skills toward.”  
Mark looked at Bucky with a curious face. “Didn’t they already see that in the demonstration?”  
“Yeah, but we had the board members interfering. Besides, I have wanted to fight against you to see how much better I have gotten.”  
“Bucky, I have beaten you a few times already…”  
“And I shot you and almost killed you,” Bucky said taking a few steps back.   
“True…” Mark said unsurely.   
“Come on, we won’t actually be fighting to kill one another. A sparring match. It will be much fairer for me since your powers are gone. If I recall, two of the times you beat me you had your powers.”  
Mark smiled as he looked up in the trees. “Don’t think I need my powers to take you down.” Mark walked over to one of the trees near them.   
“Are we really going to see you two fight?” Pietro asked with some excitement in his voice.   
“Why not, I mean Bucky does have a point. We both have quick reflexes, and you can see what experienced fighters can do against your speed,” Mark walked to another tree from where he was before.   
“What are you doing?” Bucky asked.   
Mark paused as he stood at a tree. “Trying to find the best seat for the kids. If they are going to gain the most out of this, they need to see from high up. I think this tree will do.”  
Pietro and Wanda both walked over to where Mark stood. Mark cupped his hands, so Pietro to use it as a step to get up. Wanda hesitated for a moment before joining her brother.   
“So this helps Pietro but what will I learn from it?” Wanda asked.   
“You will see what it looks like when someone is controlling his powers. We both will be holding back some since it is just a sparring match,” Mark bent down, and Wanda jumped up to the tree. Pietro helped his sister sit as they both got comfortable in the branches.   
“So,” Mark said walking over to the opening opposite of Bucky. “Ready to get your butt kicked?”   
Bucky laughed as he got ready. “You kids let us know when to start,” Bucky shouted.   
Pietro and Wanda both looked at one another. Pietro gestured to Wanda to give the signal. She nodded.   
“Okay, Ready?” Wanda shouted as Bucky was ready to strike. Mark just remained calm on the other side of the clearing. “Go!”  
Bucky lunged forward and came in with a punch. Mark blocked the first Punch but dodged the second one.   
“Not able to block my hits?” Bucky asked as he took another swing.   
“I'm not stupid,” Mark said as he ducked then jumped back. “I don’t need a broken arm from blocking your metal arm.”   
Bucky laughed as he ran forward. Mark ran as well and when they met Bucky tried to turn and kick, but Mark caught Bucky’s leg and threw it up sending Bucky to the ground. Mark went to punch Bucky, but Bucky rolled to avoid the hit.   
“Ow,” Mark said as he pulled his hand back from hitting the ground. “You could have let me hit you so I would bruise myself.”  
Bucky laughed. “Yeah let the worlds deadliest assassin land a hit on me like that? You got to be kidding me.”  
Mark and Bucky stood there for a moment looking at one another. The air was tense. Pietro turned to his sister. “They move so fast and can tell what the other is going to do.”  
“Yeah,” Wanda agrees. “I think this is what they wanted you to learn. To fight with a flow. But…” Wanda paused for a moment as she stared at the two Avengers. “Why did they stop.”  
“I don’t know,” Pietro said. “We will find out though.”  
Bucky and Mark both looked tense for a moment. Then Bucky reached into his jacket.   
“I wondered when you were going to go for it,” Mark shouted as Bucky pulled out his handgun.   
“Psh,” Bucky said. “Like I didn’t notice you unfold your dagger already.”   
Wanda looked at Mark and noticed he had a dagger in both hands now. Both were ready to use weapons for this fight.   
“I mean it wouldn’t be a fair fight unless you used a gun…”  
“And you used your dagger,” Bucky said finishing Mark’s sentence.   
“So ready to really fight?” Mark asked.   
“Sure am,” Bucky said as he stood ready. Mark ran forward, and Bucky fired two rounds at Mark. Mark lifted his dagger near his face blocking both shots and spun to swing his dagger. Bucky jumped backward to dodge but then saw a dagger flying at him. Bucky turned to have his Metal Arm block the hit. The daggers flew to the side when deflected.   
“Almost had me,” Bucky said.   
“Your damn metal arm,” Mark said coming in for close combat. Both Bucky and Mark exchanged swings. Mark swung his dagger which Bucky again used his metal arm to block the hits. Bucky brought his gun to fire at Mark and Mark would use his free hand to hit it away or dodge the last second. Both Pietro and Wanda were amazed at how quickly these two were moving. Bucky would block the daggers with his metal Arm while swinging his gun to hit Mark when he wasn’t shooting, and Mark would mimic the same with his one dagger and free hand. The only sound heard were gunshots and the scrapping of metal on metal as Mark hit Bucky with his dagger.   
“This is insane, they are a foot apart and can block so easily?” Pietro said.   
“Remember their training us,” Wanda said to her brother.   
“Dr. Strange was right when he brought us here. We are going to learn so much.”  
Wanda nodded agreeing with her brother but not turning away from the fight.   
Finally, Mark moved at the last second to avoid a bullet. The bullet grazed his cheek, but this was the moment when Mark kicked Bucky’s feet from under him. Bucky fell to the ground but quickly aimed his gun as Mark went in with his dagger. Both froze at that moment. Mark stood there with his dagger to Bucky’s neck, and Bucky had the gun pointing right at Mark’s left eye.   
“Guess I win,” Bucky said smiling.   
“Guess again, you’re out of bullets,” Mark said with his own smile.   
Bucky pulled the trigger. Wanda jumped when she saw this, but all they heard was a click.   
“Damn,” Bucky said.   
“Told you,” Mark said backing off and offering a hand to Bucky. Bucky took Mark’s hand and stood up. Bucky stepped forward and looked at Mark’s cheek.   
“How much you wanna bet I am going to get an earful from Steve for doing that to you?” Bucky said. Mark laughed.   
“You and me both,” Mark said. Bucky joined in laughter with Mark. They both heard Pietro and Wanda jump down from the tree. They turned to look at the Young Avengers.   
“How the hell did you guys do that?” Pietro asked.   
“Years of practice,” Bucky said. “But to be honest, this one was holding back.”  
Both Pietro and Wanda looked at Mark who just folded his dagger into his wrist cuff.   
“Were you holding back,” Wanda asked.   
“I mean I got a cut on my cheek,” Mark said looking at Bucky.   
“You took that hit to be close enough to sweep my feet from under me. You needed that extra step to catch me off guard,” Bucky said defending his first statement.   
“I agree with Bucky,” They heard from the side. Everyone turned to see a man walking from the woods.   
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the United Nations?” Mark said looking at the man.   
“I was curious to see how the assassin has changed over the years,” T’Challa said as he stepped forward. “Can you blame a man who wishes to see the person he saw as a hero fight once again.”  
“Who is he?” Wanda asked looked at Mark.   
“And old friend,” Mark said answering Wanda. “And a supporter of the Young Avengers initiative.”  
“Not to mention a huge supporter of Mark,” Bucky said stepping forward to great T’Challa. “Names Bucky.”  
“T’Challa, pleasure. I didn’t have a chance to meet you at the Young Avengers event,” T’Challa said.   
“Was busy setting up a firework display to surprise everyone,” Bucky said.   
“If I were to guess,” T’Challa said looking at Mark, “his plan?”   
Bucky nodded letting T’Challa know some things didn’t change.   
“Enough about me,” Mark said changing the subject. “What brings you out here,” Mark pointed around them “in the middle of the woods.”  
“I asked to see you train the Young Avengers. I heard from Natasha you were out here and I decided to stop by and see what I would catch,” T’Challa answered.   
“And he just so happened to catch our fight,” Bucky said.   
“Indeed,” T’Challa answered. “I apologize if I intruded on your training,” T’Challa said to both Pietro and Wanda.   
“It’s alright,” Pietro said. “They both were kicking our asses in training.”  
“Pietro!” Wanda said.   
“Well its true, you saw them fight. It is going to take a while for us to get to where they are at,” Pietro said in his defense.   
Wanda sighed. “True it will take a while.”  
“You will get there,” T’Challa said encouraging the Young Avengers. “We all had to start somewhere. I was asked to interview some of the Young Avengers on their training by the United Nations. Is it alright if I talk to your pupils?”  
Pietro and Wanda looked at Mark for the answer. “Well, alright. But I say you own them a treat or something out of it. You two are done for the day.”  
Wanda and Pietro smiled and turned to T’Challa.   
“Come, My car is not far from here. Will you two need a ride as well?” T’challa asked.   
“Nah,” Bucky said dismissively.   
“You take the kids and treat them well. We brought the Jeep out here, so we are good,” Mark said explaining Bucky’s answers.   
“Alright and Mark,” T’Challa said looking at Mark. “I hope to spare with you one day soon.”  
Mark laughed at the comment. “With or without your Vibranium suit? Cause if you wear that, I already lost.”  
“Is that so?” T’Challa said.   
“If I had my powers, it wouldn’t matter. I could overload the suit easily but alas,” Mark said pointing at his cheek, “human.”  
“Then sparing without the suit then. I wish to see how I fare against the great assassin,” T’challa said leading the way for Wanda and Pietro. “Come let's get you two some coffee and sweets for needing to deal with an old man.”  
“I look forward to our match,” Mark shouted as T’Challa waved his hand in the air good-bye. Both Pietro and Wanda waved as well following T’Challa.   
“Think it is wise for them to go with Black Panther?” Bucky asked.   
“They will be fine. T’Challa is an old friend. I have known him since he was a little kid. He is honest with his words and plus those kids were done for the day,” Mark said turning to Bucky. “But you had to make a comment about me holding back didn’t you.”  
“What?” Bucky said holding his hands up in defense. “You were.”  
“Yeah but I don’t know if T’Challa will read into that,” Mark said in a serious tone.   
“I thought you said we could trust him,” Bucky said confused.   
“We can trust a lot of people, but why do you think I have only told you what is going on?” Mark asked Bucky. Bucky was confused for a moment not sure how to answer.   
“I don’t know really. Honestly, why did you trust me?” Bucky asked.   
“Because you’re the only one who can help me take down Thaddeus and Gabriel,” Mark said smiling as he walked to his bag. Bucky followed him.   
“Do you really think this is going to work? What if they find out?”   
“They won’t find out, Bucky,” Mark said.   
“You sound sure of yourself,” Bucky said.   
“Steve hasn’t found out,” Mark said looking at Bucky.   
“Fair,” Bucky said gathering the other tools used for the training.   
“Got any other news from Sharon?” Mark asked.   
“She has been searching but nothing yet. Sharon told me she is going to try to come on the team building trip to help provide a cover for Steve,” Bucky said.   
“Good, let her know he is going to be weird about it. But I will push him to go along with it. Did she find out what Thaddeus and Gabriel think of him since he has been spending his time with her?” Mark asked.   
“Your plan is working. She spoke to me yesterday at S.H.I.E.L.D. Sharon told me they both are backing off. The downside is they are focusing on you more,” Bucky said as they approached the jeep.   
“That’s to be expected though,” Mark said as he opened the back fo the jeep.   
“Are you sure you can handle them alone?” Bucky asked.   
“I’m not handling them alone. Right now I got you and Sharon helping me,” Mark said as he backed from the jeep.   
“You realize Steve will never forgive me if he knew what we were doing,” Bucky said.   
“What? Shouldn’t he be happy his best friend and fiancé are working together to keep him safe?” Mark said closing the door. Bucky stood there for a moment. Mark was confused why Bucky was gloom all of the sudden.   
“I’m not sure if he still sees me as his best friend,” Bucky finally said.   
“Come on Bucky…”  
“No seriously Mark…” Bucky said cutting Mark off. “Why are you even asking me for help. Steve does trust me because I have almost torn you away from him twice. Not to mention all the horrible things I did to him while I was brainwashed. You both should hate me. I never asked you, why do you trust me?”   
Bucky stood in silence before he heard Mark begin to answer. “When I lost my memories…” Mark began. “I didn’t know how to respond to everyone. We know the story of me not being able to hurt Steve and having some strong pull to him but there was another unexplained emotion I had.” Bucky looked up when Mark paused. “For some reason, I trusted you Bucky. Even when you were told to attack me by Madame Hydra, and we fought in the warehouse, I trusted you. I found a way to break you free, not because you were Steve’s best friend and he deserved to have you back, but because I trusted you. I never lost that trust even when I got my memories back.”  
They both stood there for a moment allowing Mark’s words to sink in for Bucky. “Are you getting all mushy now?” Bucky asked. Mark burst out laughing at Bucky’s words. Bucky cracked a smile as well.   
“You are just as bad as I am at ruining a good moment,” Mark said as he walked to the driver’s side.   
“You mean a snuggly moment as Andrea would put it,” Bucky corrected.   
“Exactly,” Mark said as he climbed into the jeep. Bucky did the same on the passenger's side. “Besides, who else is better to help me take down Thaddeus and Gabriel than Steve’s best friend?” Mark asked.   
Bucky smiled. “Got to admit, I would be pissed if these two find a way to keep you two apart. The only one who is allowed to do that is me, and I failed twice.”  
Mark laughed as he started the car. “Well next step is to find out what the board members have planned for this retreat. Have Sharon find out the details when she can. You know, between making out with you and such,” Mark said dropping a bomb. Bucky turned to Mark in horror.   
“What do you mean…”  
“Oh hush, Bucky. Anyone could see you have the hots for her, and she does for you. Keep your jealousy in check when she is with Steve. I have seen it come out a few time already,” Mark said putting the car in drive.   
“Alright, we may have found some spare time to enjoy one another,” Bucky admitted as he folded his arms.   
“Well look at you, Mister gloom and doom has a crush on Agent Carter,” Mark said in jest.   
“If you tell anyone…”  
“I can’t. Remember, its part of our plan to show she is into Steve?” Mark said quickly.   
“Oh…right…” Bucky said remembering the plan.   
“This is what I mean about keeping your jealousy in check,” Mark said sighing. “Let’s just figure out what they are up to already. Ever since this started, I have had a horrible feeling about this.”  
“You have had a bad feeling for a few weeks?” Bucky asked.   
“Try months,” Mark corrected Bucky.   
“Damn, when did you think this all started?” Bucky asked.   
“The week I proposed to Steve…” Mark answered.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22  
Steve  
Steve dawned on his Captain America cowl and looked in the mirror. He looked good, and he took a deep breath. “It’s alright, this is a PR event and for the kids.” Steve looked over at his shield and picked it up. He ran his hand across it and let out a sigh. He had grown to both love his shield and hate it now. He loved thinking about what it meant for Mark to make the shield for him, but he hated realizing how all those good thoughts are on hold because of the Board Members at S.H.I.E.L.D. Steve turned toward the door as he heard people walk down the hall. It sounded like Natasha and Clint walking down the hall, Clint was laughing. Steve figured Clint was excited about the Halloween event. It had been a while since the Avengers hosted a Halloween event for the kids of the city. Steve loved this PR event. It meant they all dressed up in uniform and spent time with the other kids who came in costumes. Many of the kids would dress as Avengers and Tony always made a point to point out how many kids dressed as Iron Man. Steve was wondering how tonight would go. He would be at this event alone, least not being able to say he is with Mark. The Board members made a point to be at this event since it included the Young Avengers. Steve hating feeling like he was being watched by both Thaddeus and Gabriel. He just wanted to be able to me himself.  
“Ready for the event?” Steve heard as he turned to look at who was at his door.   
“Oh, hey Sharon. Yeah, I just finished getting ready,” Steve said as he looked one last time in the mirror to make sure everything was in order. He turned to walk to the door.   
“You looked lost in thought, something on your mind?” Sharon asked.   
Steve thought for a moment if he would be able to tell Sharon all that has been going on for him since the initiative began. He didn’t know how Sharon would react and he could feel the silence making the tension thicker in the air.   
“Have you ever felt like you couldn’t be yourself because of those around you?” Steve finally asked.   
“What do you mean? Like you feel you are back in the 1940s or something?” Sharon asked.   
Steve shook his head. “No, like those around you in power won’t let you be who you wish to be. Like they hold power over you. More importantly, you’re worried about what they can do to someone you care about.”  
Sharon stared at Steve blankly. “I’m not sure if I am following, Steve. I think you need to be more specific.”  
Steve let out a sigh. “Nevermind.” Steve was beginning to feel like fewer people around him could truly understand what he was going through right now. He decided to drop it for now. “Let’s head outside to the event.”  
“Sure,” Sharon said grabbing Steve’s arm. “Let’s join everyone else. They all looked to be having fun with the kids, Especially the Young Avengers.”  
Steve led the way out of his room and down the stairs. Both he and Sharon walked to the door, the event was held every year at the Avengers Mansion. They stepped outside and saw the massive crowd outside. More kids came this year than all previous years. Steve just looked around at everyone enjoying themselves. He saw some kids in line to have their faces painted by some of the Young Avengers. Candy was seen everywhere. Tony was showing off his Iron Man suit to the young kids, Andrea was there to make sure nothing bad happened. Steve turned as he heard some kids screaming. They all were laughing and screaming as they ran from the haunted out build by the team. Steve saw Bucky step out of the haunted house with Brian, both fist-bumping each other at the sight of the kids running.   
“Looks like everyone is having fun,” Sharon said. Steve agreed. It was nice to see the teams in such Harmony all for a good cause. He searched the crowd again trying to see if he could find Mark. Steve heard Sharon sigh. He turned his head to look at her.   
“Looks like Thaddeus and Gabriel are here,” Sharon said. Steve followed her gaze and saw them both standing there eyeing Bucky and making faces for his behavior. Steve felt irritated his friend was going to be scolded for scaring kids in a haunted house on Halloween.   
“Looks like I need to do some damage control and check in with them before they shut this down. You go say hello to the kids, I’m sure they will be thrilled to meet Captain America.”  
Steve watched as Sharon headed toward Thaddeus and Gabriel. The Kids would be thrilled to meet Captain America, something Steve has always been told his entire life. Steve somehow hoped that it wouldn’t be like it had always been, but given the recent events, he needed to play the part.   
Steve walked over to the crowd and true to Sharon's words, the children came running over to Steve wanting pictures and to be near their hero. Steve didn’t mind this part, he actually liked being the hero to the kids. He put on his big smile and greeted each kid and knelt down to speak to them.   
“Some things don’t change,” Steve heard as he looked up to see Natasha standing there.   
“What? They all wanted to meet their hero,” Steve said defending the kids. Natasha smiled as Steve and shook her head. After a moment the kids were drawn to Tony doing some aerial tricks in his Iron Man suit. Natasha walked over to Steve.   
“I guess Tony was jealous the kids just wanted to say hello to me, he needed to draw them away by showing off,” Steve said.   
“He has been doing that all night. As soon as anyone gets more attention then he does, he pulls the kids away by flying around for a bit. They will be back,” Natasha said.   
“Have you seen…”  
“He is over at the face painting booth,” Natasha answered before Steve could finish. “It is not so surprising how predictable you are now.”  
Steve blushed when Natasha called him out for wondering where Mark was. “Why is he there?”  
Natasha shrugged her shoulders. “Not sure. Some kid ran up to Mark and grabbed his hand like he knew Mark. He has clung to him since then and asked Mark to go get his face painted with him. You should see how everyone teased Mark about it. I have to admit, it was cute to see him with the little kid.”  
Steve wondered if it was the same kid Mark saved from the mall. It wouldn’t surprise him to see that little kid at an event like this. Steve searched around and finally found the face patining booth.   
“Head over, I’m sure Mark will be happy to see you,” Natasha said as she walked away. Steve watched Natasha leave then turned in the direction fo the face painting booth. He spotted Mark sitting there painting a face on a little girl. Steve was walking over when he felt someone grab his hand.   
“Captain America!” A little voice said. Steve turned to see the little Kid from the mall standing there dressed like he was. The kid held a plushie of Captian America as well and wore a big smile. “I found you!”  
“Hey Jake,” Steve said. “So you have.”  
“Come on,” Jake said pulling Steve along, “Your friend is over here.” Steve followed as he was pulled along by Jake to where Mark was sitting. Steve saw Mark spot him and look up with a smile.   
“I see you are stealing my fans now,” Mark said to Steve.   
“He brought me over here,” Steve said in his defense. “He said my friend was here.”  
Mark looked at Jake. “So which one of you is the real Captain America?” Mark raised an eyebrow at the question.   
Jake laughed and pointed at Steve. “He is! I wanted to dress as Creed, but I didn’t know your costume. I was okay with just dressing like Captain America.”  
Steve laughed, “ Sounds like you are the one stealing my fans.”  
“Yeah well he gets to snuggle up to that Captain America plushie,” Mark said in jest. Steve walked over to Mark to see what he was doing.   
“Captain America, this is Angie. A friend of Jake there,” Mark said. Angie just waved to Steve with a smile. It looked like she was shy around Steve. Steve looked at what looked like a sad attempt to draw a cat face for Angie.   
“What did you do to this poor girl?” Steve asked.   
Mark made a face at Steve. “She is a cat! Isn’t it obvious?”   
“A dead cat?” Steve asked. Angie looked distressed when Steve said this and almost began to cry. Steve was unsure how to help the little girl.   
“Sorry Angie,” Mark said as the little girl looked up. She was about the same age as Jake. Mark grabbed a towel and cleaned off the little girls face. “I am not the best artist, but I knew someone who is.”   
Angie didn’t cry and just sat there while Mark cleaned her face. When Mark was finished, she finally asked “Who?”   
Mark grabbed the brush and handed it to Steve. “Captain America of course. You should see some of his artwork.”  
Steve froze when Mark said this.   
“Really?” Angie asked. “He likes to draw like I do?”   
“Yup,” Mark said grabbing a piece of paper from the side. Mark held it up for Steve. “See, Angie is an artist like you.”  
Steve was surprised by what Mark was doing.   
“Is it true Captin America? You draw like me?” Angie said smiling. Steve couldn’t help but melt when he saw the girl smile.   
“I draw. Creed says I am good at it, but I don’t think I am,” Steve answered.   
“Can you paint my face like a cat?” Angie finally asked. Steve didn’t know what to saw. He never drew someone in front of other people before let alone paint someone’s face. Steve then saw a paintbrush in front of him.   
“It’s hard to say no, isn’t it. That’s how I got looped into it. Why not give it a shot. You know you will do better than I did,” Mark said. Steve grabbed the paintbrush and Mark moved for Steve to sit.   
“Okay,” Steve said as he grabbed the paint and began to paint Angie to look like a black cat.   
It took Steve a while, but he finished his painting. He found himself getting lost in the artwork, but when he was done, he was proud of his work.   
“Wow, it looks really realistic,” Steve heard from behind him. He turned to see Natasha standing there along with a crowd of people. Steve felt his anxiety start to increase. He was so lost in the painting that he didn’t notice the crowd behind him.   
“Got to give it to you Cap, You have a hidden talent we didn’t know about,” Tony said.   
“Well someone knew about it,” Andrea corrected as she looked at Mark. Steve turned to look at Mark who stood there smiling at Steve. That is when Steve realized what Mark did. Mark made Steve paint so everyone could see Steve’s artwork. Mark had been trying for a while to have Steve show off his skills, and here he did it without Steve realizing.   
“Can I see how it looks?” Angie asked.   
“Uh…” Steve said as he looked around.   
“Here,” Mark said stepping forward grabbing the mirror on the table. Mark held it up for Angie. Steve watched as the little girl giggled in excitement.   
“I look like a cute little kitty!” Angie shouted in excitement. Everyone laughed at her reaction. Steve felt a tug on his arm. He turned to see a little boy standing there.   
“Captain America, can you paint my face next? I wanna look like a goblin,” The little boy asked.   
“Wait I want Captain America to paint my face, I want to look like a scary witch,” A little girl shouted. Soon Steve had a line of little kids waiting for him to paint their faces.   
The time flew by, and Steve was able to paint all the kids’ faces. He closed up the face painting booth and called it a day for his career. He looked around and saw Mark was nowhere to be found nearby. Steve began his search for his fiance and saw all his artwork on display as he saw kids run around.   
“So he was actually able to bring out more of Steve Rogers than thought possible,” Steve heard. He looked to see Bucky standing there with some fake blood on his face and a torn shirt.   
“What do you mean?” Steve asked.   
“Mark, he got you to do something I thought you would never do. Paint with an audience,” Bucky said as they turned to see three kids waving at Steve with their faces painted. “Even I didn’t think it was possible for you to do that. And now all the kids are talking about what a great artist you are.”  
Steve felt himself blushing when Bucky said that. Bucky was right, Mark was able to share with the world something great about Steve.   
“I guess you’re right. Speaking of Mark have you seen him?” Steve asked.   
“Over by the drinks. He was talking to Union Jack when I last saw him,” Bucky said as he turned to walk away. “It’s nice to see him bring out Steve Rogers. I like it when my old friend returns,” Bucky said as he walked away.   
“I like it when I come back as well,” Steve said to himself as he continued walking to the drink area. He was a little worried Mark was with Joseph. He finally spotted then near the area where people could pick up the drinks. Steve began to walk but then stopped when he saw Joseph begin to flirt with Mark. Steve watched as Joseph would touch Mark’s arm and Make jokes with Mark. Steve felt his jealousy begin to rise, but then he saw something he noticed before. Joseph put his hand around Mark’s waist, and Mark tensed up. As soon as Mark did this, Joseph backed away. Steve wasn’t sure what was going on to make Mark do that. He continued walking toward them. Steve saw Joseph look at him.   
“Hey there Cap,” Joseph said. Mark turned to greet Steve with a smile.   
“Well if it isn’t Picasso himself,” Mark said jokingly. Steve still turned red at the joke.  
“You had to put me on the spot, didn’t you?” Steve said in defense.   
“You could have said no,” Mark rebutted.   
“What is going on?” Joseph asked. Mark turned to Joseph.   
“Sorry, you were in the haunted house all evening. Steve did some face painting, and the kids loved it. He now has a large fanbase for his art,” Mark explained. Steve felt his face burn more from turning an even deeper red from Mark’s compliments.   
“So that’s why we have so many little tikes running around with good paint jobs. I didn’t think you did it all on your own,” Joseph said.   
“I have you know I did a good job,” Mark stated. Steve began to laugh when he remembered poor Angie when Mark painted her face. “You are not helping,” Mark said to Steve.   
“You had a following too,” Steve said.   
“Yeah well, that little kid happened to tell all his friends about his adventure. While you were getting ready, I was attacked by about twenty little kids and showed them some of the moves I used in the mall,” Mark said.   
“So slowly building up a face base? The poor kids didn’t want to come near me,” Joseph said.   
“Probably because your uniform has you freaking them out. Your mask makes it look like you are going to rob their house,” Mark said reaching over to take off Joseph’s mask. “There, now the kids won’t be scared of you.”  
“So admitting you like looking at my mug?” Joseph said with a smile. Steve rolled his eyes instinctively at Joseph's attempt to flirt with Mark.   
“Don’t make me strangle you with your own mask. I am going to the haunted house to see if Clint or Bucky want any soda, be back,” Mark said leaving Steve with Joseph. It was awkward for Steve to be around Joseph. He seeing Joseph constantly flirt with Mark and more so, be able to do it so openly.   
“So what is the deal with you two?” Joseph asked Steve.   
“What?” Steve asked as he was snapped out of his thoughts.   
“What is the deal with you and Mark? I mean you two act like best friends sometimes then I see you completely shun him with board members are around. It’s hard to read,” Joseph said.   
Steve was annoyed Joseph was able to read his behaviors so easily. “It’s complicated with the board members.”  
“I wouldn’t say it is complicated with us,” Steve turned to see Thaddeus standing there. “We just don’t like that assassin’s attitude when it comes to rank. He never listens and seems to do his own thing. Otherwise, he is fine.”  
“Fine?” Steve heard Joseph say. “I heard you two were against his lifestyle, as you put it.”  
Thaddeus took a drink of his water. “We were against his choices since we thought he was trying to corrupt Captain America here. But my intel tells me you and the assassin have been spending time together. We are fine as long as he leaves good ol’ Rogers alone,” Thaddeus said slapping Steve on the back. “Besides Sharon seems to be pining for you, Captain. Seems the Carter charm is working well on you.”  
Steve had never felt more uncomfortable in his entire life. The only solace he could feel at this moment was the fact it seems Mark’s plan was working.   
“So you don’t approve of his lifestyle,” Joesphe asked to get some clarity.   
“What he does is none of my business, especially if it leaves the good image of Captain America out of it. Besides, if you do win him over the assassin might just fly over the great pond to join you in London.”  
Steve froze when Thaddeus said those words. Steve knew Mark would never leave Steve for Joseph but how far would Mark go to keep Steve safe.   
“Well at the rate I am going at, it will take a long time to get him to take a step in the direction of Britain,” Joseph said.   
“You just need to try harder my boy,” Thaddeus said. It seemed Thaddeus was willing to support Joseph and Mark if they were together… just not Steve and Mark.   
“What do you say, Captain?” Thaddeus asked.   
Before Steve could answer, he heard gunfire. He turned and heard it again.   
“That came from the haunted house,” Joseph said. Then there was a large explosion taking down the house.   
“Mark…”


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23  
Andrea  
“Are you Black Widow?”   
Andrea sighed as she turned to yet another kid asking her that. “Nope, I’m Lucinda. Black Widow and I look nothing alike.”  
“But you both are pretty and fight the bad guys,” the little girl said innocently before Andrea could scold her. Andrea had to admit the kids did get on her good side when they called both her and Natasha pretty.   
“Yeah, but we are two different people. But thanks for the compliment kiddo. What brings you here to the tech side?” Andrea said as she was demonstrating the holograph system to project friendly ghosts and ghouls for the kids.  
“Can you make a pumpkin talk? I am not good at making jack-o-lanterns,” The little girl asked.   
Andrea smiled as she blinked. Her eyes turned neon green. “No problem kiddo,” And before them appeared a smiling jack-o-lantern hologram. Andrea programmed it to say “hello” and to laugh in a goofy way to make the little girl smile. Andrea found herself laughing as she saw the little girl jump for joy at the hologram.   
Then Andrea heard the familiar noise of Iron Man flying near her. Tony landed, and his faceplate flipped back so Andrea could see him.   
“You are such a show off you know that?” Andrea said.   
“What?” Tony said shrugging his shoulders. “The kids enjoy the flight show.”  
“You only started doing more of it when you saw Steve had the giant line for the face painting booth. Admit it, you were jealous the kids wanted Steve to paint their faces,” Andrea said calling out Tony.   
Tony just smiled as he crossed his arms. “Funny how you put it. The giant line was for Steve, not Captain America.”  
Andrea was about to call Tony out more on his jealousy, but she stopped herself as she thought of Tony’s words. “You’re right. I didn’t even realize I did that. Do you think Steve realized it too?”  
Tony smiled more when Andrea asked. “He must have. I mean the only reason it happened was because Mark put him on the spot to show off Steve Rogers, not Captain America. Hope that sticks for more than just tonight.”  
“You still were jealous of Steve,” Andrea finally said.   
“Steve has his talents, and I have mine. But no matter what I did, it seemed like the line for Steve grew larger,” Tony admitted.   
“Let him have this win,” Andrea said smiling.   
“Fine,” Tony admitted in defeat. Andrea saw Tony turn to the other side of the area and wave. Andrea turned to follow Tony’s gaze and saw Mark waving back as he entered the haunted house.   
“Think he is going to see Bucky?” Andrea heard Tony ask.   
“Probably. They have been spending more time with one another. Bucky helps train Pietro, so makes sense,” Andrea answered.   
“They have been hanging out more lately, wonder what it is all about,” Tony said.   
Andrea gasped dramatically. “Do you think Mark is having an affair with Bucky? The scandal!” Andrea laughed at her joke. She saw Tony still held a serious face as he continued to stare at the haunted house. “Tony, come on. Mark would never cheat on Steve. And if he ever did I would never think it would be with Bucky. They are just hanging out.”  
“Is it weird that Mark is hanging out with Bucky more than Steve?” Tony finally asked.   
“I swear you watch Mark and Steve like they are some sort of soap opera for you,” Andrea said defending Mark.   
“In my defense, they have been for the past few years,” Tony said back.   
“True,” Andrea agreed turning to the haunted house. “But why think the worst of it. Yeah, Steve is happy Bucky is back but still has nightmares of when Bucky shot Mark. It is going to take time for Steve to build his trust back. Plus, the board members aren’t keen on Bucky either.”  
“Really? How do you know?” Tony asked.   
“Fury,” Andrea answered. “He told Mark and me that the board members were hesitant on Bucky being back with us. So makes sense the two the board members have labeled as outcasts would be hanging out together.”  
“True,” Tony said letting his worries go as he turned. Andrea was turning back to the kids when they both heard the loud gunfire. Andrea turned quickly to find the source.   
“That didn’t come from…” Andrea heard more gunfire from the haunted house. Before she or Tony could say anything, they both were off toward the haunted house. Andrea was about to reach for the door when the bomb went off. She didn’t remember much other than feeling the heat from the explosion. She wasn’t knocked out, and she was able to move she saw Tony was covering her with the debris from the building on top of him.   
“Good you’re awake,” Tony said as he slowly stood up, pushing the debris away. Andrea and Tony stood up.   
“Lucinda! Iron Man!” Andrea heard as she turned to see Steve running toward her. “What’s the status report?”  
“Status?” Andrea said as she turned to the burning building. Mark and Bucky were in there…  
“Lucinda! Where is Mark?” Steve shouted.   
Andrea was still staring at the building when she answered Steve. “He went in there…to see Bucky…” Then another bomb went off.   
“Shit, this is an attack,” Tony said turning to where the second bomb went off. “Not here, not when there are kids here.”  
“We don’t have time to find Mark and Bucky,” Natasha said running over. “We need to help the kids and their parents. I will round up the Young Avengers, and we will focus on taking everyone to safety.”  
“I will help you,” Sharon said running over.   
“Count me in,” Clint said as he got to them but then ran leading the way. “Let’s move.”   
“You guys go help the families,” Steve said running toward the burning building. Andrea could help herself, she followed instinctively. She and Steve got to the rubble and began to move what they could while looking around.   
“Do you know where Bucky was in the haunted house?” Andrea asked.   
“He could have been anywhere. His part was to pop out and scare the kids,” Steve said taking his shield and using it to push rubble out of the way.   
“Shit,” Andrea said as she moved some of the wooden boards still burning with her hands. She felt the heat from the fire but didn’t care. She lifted on board and still saw nothing.   
“This is weird,” Andrea said looking around.   
“What do you mean?” Steve asked as he continued looking.   
“Steve, there are no bodies. No kids, no other volunteers, no Mark or Bucky. They cleared out the haunted house,” Andrea said looking around to find a trace of any human.   
Steve stopped searching and looked around as well. “Did they know the attack was going to happen?”  
“I doubt either of them would keep an attack on kids from us,” Andrea said as she walked around. Then Andrea saw a figure moving in the distance. She looked and saw two other shadows following it.   
“Steve, this way,” Andrea said as she ran. The figures were far away, but she kept eyesight on them. She couldn’t tell who it was, but she was sure it was Mark and Bucky.   
“You think it’s them?” Steve shouted as he caught up to Andrea.   
“Yeah but I don’t know who they are chasing,” Andrea shouted back. They stopped when they came upon Mark and Bucky fighting what looked like soldiers ready to attack. Mark punched a soldier in the chest while grabbing his arm and twisting it. The soldier dropped his pistol, and Mark grabbed it.   
“Bucky!” Mark said as he tossed it to Bucky then punched the soldier in the face before kneeing him in the chest. Bucky caught the gun and shot two soldiers in the legs before he punched one and then kicked the other.   
“Since when did they fight so well together?” Steve asked. Andrea wasn’t sure how to answer it. She didn’t know Bucky and Mark were capable of fighting so seamlessly together. It looked like they fought better together than Andrea did with Mark. Andrea began to run toward them to offer support, Steve followed.   
As Andrea ran, she saw Mark punch another soldier then grab his arm flipping him over Mark’s shoulder to throw him toward Bucky. Without missing a beat, Bucky held out his arm and clotheslined the soldier taking him down. Andrea then saw Mark run toward the big figure in the distance. She was about to follow when Bucky stepped in front of her.   
“Don’t, it's between Mark and him now,” Bucky said.   
“Whose him?” Andrea asked.   
“Crossbones,” Bucky answered.  
“What?” Steve said when he heard Bucky’s answer. “We can’t let Mark take him on alone…”  
“We can, and we have to. This is a matter of pride for Mark,” Bucky answered. Andrea was confused. Pride? Mark never said anything about his pride being challenged when Crossbones caught him off guard with the bomb.   
“This is because Crossbones hurt the Young Avengers and threatened the kids here, isn’t it?” Steve finally said. Bucky nodded.   
“He ambushed us in the haunted house, but Mark was able to clear it out before the bombs went off. He told us about the attack. He was hoping to get away, but Mark wanted to end it here when we heard the gunfire and other bomb go off. He went into a rage over it. I suggest we stand back,” Bucky explained.   
Andrea was more confused now. First pride and now Bucky was able to explain how Mark was feeling about this whole thing. Maybe there was more of an exchange in the haunted house? She wasn’t sure. There had to be more.   
“You sure that’s it, Mark doesn’t go into blind rages ever,” Andrea said.   
“Crossbones said something to him, He didn’t tell me. That might be the part your missing to make sense of it all,” Bucky said.   
Andrea watched as Mark fought hand to hand against Crossbones. She couldn’t tell what was being said between them, but Bucky’s words would make sense. Crossbones said something to Mark, and it set Mark off. Mark was able to hit Crossbones twice in the chest and land a kick to his face. It staggered Crossbones, but he stabilized himself and attacked Mark again. Mark easily dodged the first punch, and then Mark grabbed Crossbones second punch. Mark pushed Crossbone’s fist down to the ground to bring him down. Andrea watched as Mark was overlooking Crossbones. It was strange to her though. She has seen Mark fight Many times as an Avenger but the stance he had and the look in his eyes. It reminded her of when they were on missions. Mark was in kill mode right now, and she worried if Mark would take Crossbones life.   
“We need to step in,” Andrea said.   
“We can’t, this is a fight between an assassin and a mercenary right now,” Bucky said back to her.   
“Exactly,” Andrea said stepping forward. “Mark is an Avenger.” Andrea felt her arm being grabbed she looked back to Bucky holding her.   
“He asked me to keep you both out of this fight,” Bucky said to her.   
“He knew we would find you two?” Steve asked.   
“Let’s be honest Steve,” Bucky said looking back at Steve. “And exploding building with Mark in it, you two would be the first to be looking for him.”  
“I came looking for you too Bucky,” Steve said.   
“Nice gesture but don’t kid yourself,” Bucky said looking back at Andrea. “He asked you to stay out of it. I am just listening to the wishes of a friend.”  
Andrea was stunned Bucky referred to Mark as his friend. She lowered her guard, and Bucky let go of her arm. “I don’t like it. If he looks like he is going in for the kill, I am stepping in.”  
“He won’t,,” Bucky said. Andrea looked at Bucky with a confused look on her face. How would Bucky know Mark wouldn’t kill Crossbones. “Not yet anyway, he needs information out of him first,” Bucky answered Andrea’s question before she asked.   
“Not yet? What does he need?” Andrea asked. She looked back at Mark in the fight and saw both he and Crossbones exchanging words.   
“Not sure, but I trust him. Do you?” Bucky said almost challenging Andrea. She felt her rage begin to rise from the question. How dare Bucky ask if she trusted Mark. Of course, she did…least, she thought she did. She found herself questioning him more and more lately.   
“We need to trust Mark, Andrea,” Steve said standing next to Bucky. “We will stand down.”  
Andrea watched as Crossbones and Mark spoke. She wished she knew what they were saying. Then Mark’s expression shifted. Crossbones said something, and Mark quickly looked over to their direction. Then Crossbones threw a small flash grenade right in front of Mark’s face. The flash slightly blinded Andrea as well. She focused quickly and saw Crossbones going to punch Mark. He landed an uppercut to Mark’s chest, then she saw his metal gauntlet push forward like it had a kinetic force. It was going to launch Mark up, but he quickly grabbed the gauntlet and used the upward force to launch a kick to send Crossbones flying backward. Crossbones flew several feet away then Andrea could see soldiers coming in to assist Crossbones.   
“We need to go in now,” Steve said.   
“Agreed,” Bucky said as he ran with Steve. Andrea followed. The soldiers came in, but before they could pull their guns out to fire at Mark, a shield came flying in and ricocheted off of three of them before returning to Steve. Bucky fired his gun at the remaining two to knock them down then ran to one to grab his gun before punching him in the face. Andrea went to the other downed soldier and shocked him with her baton before kicking his gun away. She looked over to where Crossbones was, but he was gone. She turned to see Mark and saw Steve walking toward him. She ran over to join.   
Steve knelt down to help Mark. “You okay?” Steve asked as he offered his hand. Mark took it, and Steve helped him stand up.   
“Fine, just took a serious hit to the chest,” Mark said with a smile as he rubbed his chest. Steve placed his hand where Mark was rubbing his chest.   
“Bad hit?” Steve asked.   
“I will be fine, already feeling better,” Mark said smiling at Steve. Andrea watched as Steve smiled back at Mark.   
“Do you have to worry us so much?” Andrea finally asked.   
“I agree, we didn’t know if you were okay,” Steve said.   
“You know Bucky was in the building too,” Mark said to both of them.   
“It’s fine, their concern was about you,” Bucky said as he began to walk back to the mansion. “I’m going to see what I can do to help with the civilians.”  
Bucky was a good distance away before Mark spoke. “You know, you two could stand to at least show concern about him.”  
“Sorry, our minds were kind of freaking out at the possibility of you being burned alive,” Andrea said in defense. “Besides when did you two get all buddy-buddy?”  
“Since I am the only one showing Bucky I trust him,” Mark answered back. “Just remember he is on the team too,” Then Mark turned to Steve. “And he is your best friend.”  
Steve looked down a little disappointed he let Mark down. “You’re right,” Steve said. “It’s just hard to wipe away the memories I have of what he did.”  
“He almost took you from us twice, Mark. He carries those sins,” Andrea said supporting Steve.   
“And how many sins do I carry?” Mark asked both Andrea and Steve. Andrea was shocked by the question. “More, how many sins do you know I carry? I am an assassin remember.”  
“Was an assassin,” Steve corrected. Mark looked at Steve for a moment then turned to Andrea.   
“I was many things. But you better tell him the look you saw in me tonight. True Steve has seen me kill, but he has never seen that side of me before,” Mark said as he turned and began to walk away.   
Andrea felt he blood run cold when Mark said those words. She didn’t know how to tell Steve. She was about to say something when she saw Steve run and hug Mark from behind.   
“I don’t care what you used to be. Your right with what you said about Bucky. But I want you to know I don’t care about what you used to be before. Right now, you are an Avenger. You are a teacher to the kids. And you are my fiancé,” Steve said as he hugged Mark tighter with the last part. Andrea saw Mark’s look soften as a smile grew on his face. Mark turned around and looked into Steve’s eyes. Andrea could see Steve begin to soften as well as he smiled back seeing Mark.   
“You’re right. And with that, I said I will do what I need in order to protect you. Remember that Steve,” Mark said leaning in and kissing Steve. Andrea watched as Steve closed his eyes during the kiss. Mark pulled away but then leaned in to whisper something in Steve’s ear. Andrea saw Steve smile big and even blush. Then Mark let go of Steve’s hand and began to walk. “Come on, we have a huge mess to clean up.”  
Mark went on ahead, and Steve was about to follow, but Andrea grabbed his hand and pulled it to tell him to hold back a bit. Steve waited for Mark to be ahead of them before he began walking.   
“So what did he whisper to you?” Andrea asked.   
“He said ‘I love you, Steve. You are the only reason worth all of this.’ I guess he really loves me enough to go through all this nonsense with the board members and attacks,” Steve said.   
Andrea just nodded. She didn’t want to dampen Steve’s mood, but she couldn’t help but wonder if Mark was speaking about something else.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24   
Tony  
Tony felt like his head was going to split from all the yelling he dealt with today. The events the other night made headline news with children and parents being hurt while all the Avengers were present. And because of the attack, Tony needed to be at the board meetings to discuss how Stark Industries will help increase security for the civilians so this wouldn’t happen again. He hated to think of what would have happened had the team not been present to help protect the children and their families. But he had more questions to ask someone. For now Tony wanted to hide away in his office at Stark Industries which he never thought he would want to do, ever. It was the only place, or at least the last place, people wouldn’t think he would be. Tony walked into his office and closed his door behind him. He leaned against the door and breathed a sigh of relief to hear silence for the first time all day.   
“Seems like I picked a bad time to stop by your office,” Tony heard. He felt his head split even more until he opened his eyes and saw Mark standing near his desk playing with one of the many gadgets Tony had on his desk. Tony stood up straight and began to walk to his desk.   
“Funny, you are the man I have a lot of questions for,” Tony said as he took a seat at his desk.   
“I figured you would,” Mark said as he put down the fidget toy on Tony’s desk. “It was only a matter of time before you came to me, so I thought I would come to you.”  
Tony raised an eyebrow at Mark. “So you knew I was going to ask you questions?”  
“Pretty much,” Mark said with a smile. “I thought of telling you at the beginning, but I couldn’t have Andrea find out the plan so soon. Sorry for keeping you in the dark.”  
Tony felt some dread when Mark said those words. “So we are keeping things from Andrea?”  
“For the time being,” Mark said as he sat down. “She will find out in time, well everyone will.”  
“So who knows so far?” Tony asked.   
“The whole story? Just Bucky. Sharon knows part of it,” Mark answered. “Everyone else has been kept in the dark.”  
“And what will I find out today?” Tony asked.   
“Only part of it, least for now,” Mark answered. Tony felt slightly annoyed about not being the first to know and the fact he would only know about part of the story from Mark. Tony leaned back in his chair.  
“So what are you going to tell me?” Tony asked.   
“Well, let's start with what has been causing your headache today. What do you think about these attacks?” Mark asked.   
Tony sighed. He had been thinking about this for some time. Everything seems to be a domino effect lately. An attack would happen then the public would react, and negative reports about the Avengers would begin to flood the news. Then S.H.I.E.L.D. would step in to place guidelines for all Avengers to follow. It seemed to be a way to tighten the leash on the Avengers.   
“The people in control seem to be upset about us being able to do what we want. We saved the world countless times, but it never seems to be enough for them. The most recent attack is the worst. Least with the mall, we had few injured, but an event at the Avenger’s mansion led to mass hysteria.”  
“But that doesn’t tell me what you think about it,” Mark said clarifying his question.   
“Someone is making a move on the Avengers, and they are doing it from the inside,” Tony finally said. “You knew this was coming, didn’t you?”   
Mark nodded. “I knew about it for a while now.”  
Tony leaned in before he asked his question. “How long?”  
“Since Steve and I went on our vacation. I saw news reports when I was getting us food. It didn’t take me long to figure out where this was going. It’s the same propaganda I’ve seen for decades. It always leads to one thing…” Mark trailed off before he finished his sentence.   
“What?” Tony asked.   
“Let’s hope I can prevent it, Tony,” Mark said avoiding the question.   
“So this is the part I’m not allowed to know about?” Tony asked.   
“Don’t take it so hard. I am avoiding speaking about because I don’t want to put it out in the universe. I am trying to prevent it,” Mark said with some concern on his face.   
“So then tell me what I am allowed to know?” Tony asked a little annoyed by the answer.   
“Bucky and Sharon are working with me to stop this. You’re right, we think it is someone on the inside trying to corrupt the public’s view of the Avengers. Sharon has been working to see if she can find out who it is. She is sort of our mole.”  
Tony was surprised to hear Agent Carter was helping. “Sharon is on your team?” Tony asked for clarification.  
“Yeah,” Mark said matter of factly. “She has been for a while now.”  
And is she only helping with your finding out who is working on the inside or are there other things she is helping with?” Tony asked curious about past events.   
“No, you guessed it. She is playing the part of love interest for Steve. He doesn’t know though. I asked Sharon to keep it under wraps. If he knew I asked her to do this, then he might ask questions,” Mark finally said.   
“When did you ask her?” Tony questioned.   
“I didn’t,” Mark clarified.   
“Then how did you get her help?” Tony asked.   
“Someone else worried about Steve asked for me. Sharon was more than willing to help once she knew what was at stake.”  
“When?” Tony asked.   
“When I came back from London. There was a meeting between myself and Agent Carter. She suspected the engagement between Steve and myself from the beginning, saying Steve did a horrible job of hiding it. She cares about Steve as a friend and gladly stepped up to help protect him,” Mark explained.   
“Protect him?” Tony asked. “Form who?”  
Mark was silent when asked this question. Tony had never seen Mark go so quiet before.   
“It was Thaddeus and Gabriel wasn’t it?” Tony asked. Once Tony said those names he saw something change in Mark’s eyes. It was a look Tony had never seen before. No colors changed in Mark’s eyes, but it looked like pure bloodlust for those two Board Members when Tony mentioned them. Tony wondered if this was the expression Andrea mentioned to him before. “What did they say, Mark?”  
Mark took in a breath and finally spoke. “They threatened you guys. If they couldn’t kill me, then they would go after those close to me. Since the demonstration, they knew they couldn’t kill me. The settings were on max, and they put it to combat my weakness, but still no hit on me. From that moment on, they made their move and hoped to keep me compliant by threatening the team.”  
“Shit,” Tony said leaning back. “But they can’t take us all on…”  
“They downloaded all information from that tablet they had. We didn’t see Gabriel put a bug in it. All information you and Andrea programmed in it was easily copied. They know all your weaknesses. For once, you and Andrea being awesome at your jobs backfired on us,” Mark explained.   
Tony’s brain froze, but then began to move forward as he realized Thaddeus and Gabriel didn’t have everything. “They don’t have everything the Iron Man suit can do. I mean I have been working on a few things here which no one knows about.”  
“Not even Andrea?” Mark asked.   
“Nope,” Tony said as he stood up. “And if you tell her, I will kill you.”  
“Not funny,” Mark said as he watched Tony walk to the side. Tony revealed a hidden console and hit the password in. The bookshelf moved to reveal a staff hidden behind a laser grid. Mark stood up and walked over to Tony.  
“Is that…”  
“Loki’s Staff,” Tony said finishing Mark’s sentence. “Yeah, I have been working on harnessing its power to help us. No one knows I have it. I salvaged it from the rubble from the old mansion.”  
“Now that I think about it,” Mark said as he thought back. “I completely forgot he had his staff.”  
“Everyone did, but I found it, and it’s mine now,” Tony said gleefully.  
“Well, I can tell you they don’t know about this. Sharon has been trying to find out their plan, but no success yet. She can’t even find a motive for all of this,” Mark explained.   
“Well least we have some wild cards to use later if needed,” Tony said as he hit the code on the console again and the staff went back into hiding.   
“Yeah,” Mark said walking back to the chair. “We might need it.”  
“So, am I to assume you had everything planned since you came back from London?” Tony asked walking over to Mark.   
“Pretty much,” Mark said looking up at Tony.   
“So you knew about the mall event?” Tony asked.   
“Sharon found out about the attack. I don’t know how Thaddeus and Gabriel knew about the day off, but they knew the kids were going to the mall. It led me to one conclusion.”  
“The mansion is bugged,” Tony said stunned it happened under his nose.   
“One possibility,” Mark said looking forward. Tony sat on his desk as he looked at Mark.   
“What’s the other?”  
“We have a Mole in S.H.I.E.L.D., they have one in the mansion,” Mark explained.   
“Shit,” Tony thought. It would make more sense for a mole. They opened their doors to all these individual to be in the mansion will access to everything. “Well, we have a few candidates we can look into. I would guess Union Jack personally.”  
“You forget about the teens, Tony,” Mark said.   
Tony froze. “No, they wouldn’t…”  
“Why not? I would if I were them. It’s the perfect plan. Also, why go against us but support the Young Avenger Initiative?”  
Tony thought for a moment. Mark was right. They supported the Initiative and pushed it to begin sooner. Since then kept an eye on its growth and progress. “Who could it be?” Tony asked.   
“Everyone is a suspect. That’s why I haven’t said anything to anyone about this. I needed it to stay quiet. I tested my theory with my fake birthday,” Mark explained.   
“So you did hack the system,” Tony said.   
“Please, Tony,” Mark corrected Tony. “If I even tried you would know the second I hit someone on the keyboard. I switched the sample you took. I had to do some grave robbing to make it believable, but once Sharon told me the attack day at the mall, it was easy to find someone born on that day and around the right year.”  
“So you really robbed a grave to get a sample of DNA to fudge the results?” Tony asked.   
“It was easier than hacking your system,” Mark confused. Tony felt some victory around this.   
“So then, what’s the plan?” Tony finally asked.   
“Willing to go in blindly without knowing the whole story?” Mark asked.   
“Something tells me you knew about all of this and planned accordingly. Even the event last night, you knew about the attack didn’t you?” Tony asked.   
“Not fully,” Mark confused. “I thought the attack was going to be on me, not the crowd. I was just prepared for the bomb in the haunted house. When I heard gunshots, I knew that they knew I was on to them. No one should get hurt in the crossfire.”  
“Luckily there were no deaths,” Tony said.   
“But how many of those kids are scarred for life, Tony?” Mark asked. When Mark asked Tony began to see the bloodlust return to Mark’s eyes. It was beginning to scare Tony when he saw this.   
“So where do I come in?” Tony asked. “You have a plan. They made a better move against you, so you bring me in, am I right?”  
“Yeah, it has been a game of chess. They made a major move, now it is our turn,” Mark said standing up. “They showed me trying to take them down from the outside won’t work. They have the advantage in that way. We need to get on the inside.”  
“And you want me to be that person? What about Sharon? She is the mole,” Tony asked.   
Mark walked over to the side table and grabbed the magazine on it. He threw it to land on Tony’s desk facing Tony. Tony read the headline, Stark Industries reaches number one in defense. Tony looked at Mark, “You want me to use my influence with Stark Industries?”  
“I am going to need Tony Stark for this one, not Iron Man,” Mark said smiling.   
“Won’t they be suspicious? I mean, Tony Stark has always kept out of their politics.”  
“But Tony Stark would have a reason to step in now,” Mark said walking over. “The attack on the mansion, why wouldn’t you take it personally?”  
“So have me use my pride as a reason to get involved?” Tony asked. “That’s….ingenious.” Tony was a little scared at how well Mark thought this out. “Use their move against them.”  
“Exactly,” Mark said smiling. “They thought hey had us at check, but we will just take their knight with another piece,” Mark said patting Tony on the back.   
“I don’t really enjoy being a pawn,” Tony said.   
“You can always be the strongest piece in the ga the queen,” Mark said jokingly. Tony was feeling better hearing Mark joke. It was like the side he had come to know of Mark was returning.   
“I will just be the rook, or the knight thank you,” Tony said laughing back. “Does that mean you’re the king in this game?”  
Mark’s smiled at Tony. “Nope, sad to say I might just be a bishop or a knight like you.” Mark began to walk toward the door of Tony’s office. “I will fill you in on more fo the plan. I know you had a rough day I will let you relax.”  
Tony watched as Mark was leaving the office. “Is Steve the king?” Tony asked. As soon as those words left Tony’s mouth, Mark froze. Mark’s hand was on the door handle but didn’t move. There was silence for a moment before Tony continued his questions.   
“That’s who Crossbones threatened, isn’t it?” Tony saw Mark’s hand drop from the door handle when he asked the question. Mark was keeping this information to himself. Tony didn’t even know if Bucky or Sharon knew. “What did he say to you, Mark?”  
Mark turned to face Tony. “So not even Andrea heard what was said? I figured as much.”  
“She knew Crossbones said something to you but didn’t know what. She just saw your reaction. She saw you look in their direction. It was Steve, wasn’t it?” Tony asked again.   
Mark looked down for a moment. Tony let Mark take a moment. Mark wasn’t facing the door, so Tony wasn’t in any danger of him leaving without answering. Then Tony saw Mark begin to nod. “Crossbones told me I was an idiot if I thought I could stop this. I told him I knew what they were planning and I was going to do everything in my power to stop their plans. He said I was a fool. I was a fool and then told me his orders.”  
Tony felt nervous to ask but decided to anyway, “What were his orders?”  
Mark looked up at Tony, “My choice, either I die or Steve.”  
Tony felt the weight of it hit him. Then his mind began to race with everything that has happened over the last few months. He focused on Mark again before he said what his mind was thinking. “So the defiance, always being there to ruin the plans, being a step ahead of them, drawing their focus on to you… you’re doing that because you know that was their plan. You are drawing the focus on to you. Tell me I am wrong.”   
Mark smiled as he turned to grab the door. Mark opened it but paused to answer Tony. “Sometimes you got to sacrifice a piece in chess to save the king, Tony,” Mark said as he left Tony’s office.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25  
Steve  
Steve walked on ahead to reach the top of the hill before everyone else. “I can see the campsite. We are only a few hundred meters away,” Steve shouted to the others.   
“You said that about an hour ago,” Steve heard from behind him. He turned to see Brian Bonds and Joseph Chapman walking up with the others following.   
“I did not,” Steve disagreed.   
“Might as well been an hour ago,” Steve heard from another teen. He turned to see Peter Parker struggling to keep up. When Peter reached the top of the hill, he looked at the campsite ahead of them. “Oh, so you weren’t kidding.”  
“Well looks like the great Captain didn’t lie to us this time Mates,” Joey said stepping forward.  
“No,” Steve said gesturing the teens to go ahead. “You guys will rest in a little while.I know the hike has been rough on you.”  
“It’s been rough on all of us,” Clint said walking with the teens. Clint paused in front of Steve. “Remind me again why we couldn’t take the Quin Jet?”  
“That’s a good point actually,” Nadia Prym asked as she stopped near Clint and Steve. “It would have saved so much time and energy if we could fly here.”  
“Not to mention, we all don’t have the endurance of Captain America,” Sam said almost out of breath.   
Steve smiled. “Sorry guys. It was part of the team building. S.H.I.E.L.D. told us we all need to hike out to the campsite.”  
“This is stupid,” Clint said walking forward, Sam followed.   
“Agreed,” Nadia said following Clint and Sam.   
Steve couldn’t help but laugh at Clint acting like the teenagers. The rest of the teenagers walked past Steve and down the hill to the campgrounds. Steve turned and noticed his other team members were nowhere to be found. He looked down the hill but still didn’t see them. Steve began to backtrack when he saw Bucky step out of the woods and back to the trail.   
“Where are the others?” Steve asked. Bucky pointed behind him.   
“They are coming. We wanted to see if the map Andrea got was accurate. We thought a waterfall wouldn’t be far from the trail, but the map was wrong. The others are coming,” Bucky said as he walked past Steve.   
“A waterfall? You all went off trail to look for a waterfall?” Steve asked.   
Bucky shrugged his shoulders as he continued walking. Steve heard footsteps and turned to see Andrea and Tony emerging from the woods.   
“You are not someone I would peg to be in the woods, Tony,” Steve said.   
Tony grabbed Andrea by the waist, “What can I saw. We thought a waterfall would be a fun plan to enjoy our own team building.”  
Steve just shook his head at Tony’s joke and gestured for them to go up the hill to join the others. Steve then saw Natasha and Sharon walking out.   
“So no waterfall?” Steve asked.   
“Sadly no,” Sharon said. “We were hoping it would be fun to take the kids there to relax, but it's further away than expected.”  
“I was planning on pushing Clint down the waterfall,” Natasha confessed. Steve’s eyes went wide when Natasha said this. “What? From what we gathered it was maybe a twenty-foot drop. He would survive, and it would be fun to get that numbskull wet.”  
Steve heard Sharon laugh as she walked over to Steve. She grabbed his arm, and Natasha just walked past them to go meet the others.   
“Where’s Mark?” Steve asked.   
Sharon looked back from where they came from. “He was behind Natasha and me. I didn’t think he got left that far behind.”  
Steve sighed. “You go on ahead and help set up camp. We have our assignments for the tents too,” Steve said handing a piece of paper to Sharon. “I will find him.”  
“Don’t take too long,” Sharon said giving Steve’s arm a squeeze. She ran to catch up to Natasha, and both walked together down the hill to the campgrounds.   
Steve began to walk in the direction he saw everyone emerge from the woods. Steve walked through the woods for some time before he saw Mark crouched down up ahead. Steve slowly walked over to get close to Mark. Steve paused when he saw Mark hold his hand up. Mark looked up at Steve. “Sorry, you walk with a heavy foot remember. I didn’t want you to scare them,” Mark said.   
Steve walked quieter to get closer to Mark, “Scare them?” Steve asked.   
Steve looked down and saw a group of baby skunks with the mom eating a cracker out of Mark’s hand. “We don’t want to get sprayed,” Mark said. Steve stood where he was and watched Mark. He couldn’t believe he got this close to the family without the mom attacking him and now the mom was eating a cracker out of his hand and walking around Mark like it was no big deal. The babies just circled Mark and allowed him to pet them. One of the babies fell over when it was running around Mark. Mark helped the baby skunk back up, and it jumped to play with Mark’s hand and fell over again. Steve could hear Mark laughing lightly at the baby skunk. Steve just couldn’t take his eyes away from Mark. He saw him smiling and gently pet the little skunks while letting them jump at his hand and play. Mark finally stood up and began walking over to Steve. Steve watched as one of the little skunks was chasing after Mark.   
“You have a friend following you,” Steve said smiling. Mark turned, and the little skunk stopped so quickly it tumbled forward. Mark laughed and walked over to the little skunk.   
“Hey little guy, you can’t follow me, you need to head back to your family,” Mark said as he gently put his hands around the skunk and picked it up. Mark walked over and placed the skunk down near his mother. The mother looked at Mark and then began to walk away. The little ones followed their mother, and the one who was following Mark fell over again while it turned to look at Mark. Steve heard Mark laugh again. The skunk stood back up and shook its fury then hopped away with its mother. Mark stood back up and walked over to Steve.   
“What?” Mark asked.   
“Nothing,” Steve said with a large smile on his face he couldn’t hide. “How did you get them so close and to trust you like that?”  
“I lived in the woods when I was little. I know how to have animals around me, even wild ones. I guess I still know how to do it. I never had anyone else when I was younger, so it was nice to know that I can still connect with them,” Mark said as he began to walk by Steve. Steve held up his arm so it would wrap around Mark as he walked by. Mark looked up at Steve.   
“It’s nice to see you that way,” Steve said as he pulled Mark closer.   
“You are getting braver, Rogers,” Mark said smiling. Steve smiled back at him. “I am.”  
“And I notice it,” Mark said leaning in to kiss Steve on the lips. Steve smiled. “But I know it is hard to hide this from the board members of S.H.I.E.L.D. and still show you really care about me. So don’t feel like you need to be brave all the time. I get it,” Mark said pulling Steve’s arm away from his hip. Steve held Mark’s hand to protest what Mark was doing.   
“How was it for you?” Steve finally asked.   
“What?” Mark asked back.   
“Living out in the woods. How was it? You never did tell me,” Steve asked.   
“There is not much to tell,” Mark said. “It was lonely, cold, tough but at least I was keeping the world safe.”  
“Were you fighting back then when you were little?” Steve asked.   
“No Steve, I was keeping the world safe from me,” Mark said letting go of Steve’s hand and walking away.   
“Don’t walk away,” Steve said, and Mark stood still. “You always walk away when I ask you something like this. Tell me. You know about my past, I want to know about yours.”  
Mark sighed, Steve watched as Mark’s shoulders went up and down. Mark walked over to the side and sat on a fallen log. Steve walked over and sat next to Mark.   
“I know you don’t know about your parents or where you are from. But that is it. I don’t know much about when you were little,” Steve said.   
“I don’t remember much of it myself,” Mark confessed. “It was such a long time ago. I remember living in the woods. I remember being scared when I would run into someone, fearful I would hurt them. The majority of the time I did.”  
Steve grabbed Mark’s hand as he spoke. Steve saw Mark avoid eye contact with him as Mark just stared at the ground.  
“I didn’t have anyone at all. My town was wiped out. A major source of energy obliterated any living organism within a mile radius of the town,” Mark said.   
“And you survived it?” Steve asked. Mark shook his head. “I was the cause of it. I don’t know how I came to be but what I did find out is it had to do with me. My best guess is that it was some sort of ritual. If that is true, the town was the sacrifice for my existence.”  
Steve felt the weight of what Mark said. All this time, since birth, Mark had been carrying a loss with him. “Did you know when you were little?” Steve asked.   
“No, thankfully. I just knew I was alone. It was safe that way. When I would run into people, I would always be on the attack. I wouldn’t be able to control my powers, and they would be dead. I never meant to hurt them, I just wanted them to go away. Sometimes when you see someone look at me and see the fear in them, its because they remember those stories about me. I used to strike fear into the hearts of many people,” Mark said.   
Steve lifted his hand and wrapped his arm around Mark. “How did you get control of your powers?” Steve asked.   
“A woman found me,” Mark began. “The only person I couldn’t kill and who knocked me out, The Ancient One. The same woman who trained Dr. Strange. She was on a journey to find the beast who slaughtered so many and put an end to the beasts life. But when she found a young boy, she took me in and was able to help me train to understand my powers. I was finally able to understand more about my powers and control them. She even showed me my ability to heal others, which began to show me I didn’t need to be a mindless killer in the forest. My skills were still very raw, she refined them, and I became the assassin you know today. Well, the assassin minus his powers.”  
Steve was rubbing Mark’s back at this point. There was a silence after Mark explained his dark past as a child. Steve wasn’t sure what to say right now.   
“I wish I were there with you,” Steve said.   
“I don’t,” Mark said. Steve gave a shocked look. Mark laughed as he grabbed Steve’s hand. “If you were there, you wouldn’t be here with me now. I wasn’t ready for anything then. I wasn’t ready to be open and allow people into my life. It took a while to build that, for the longest time I could only do that with the animals I met in the forest.”  
Steve looked over at the area that Mark was in with the skunks. “You have been that way before, to people I mean,” Steve said.   
“I have,” Mark admitted. “Natasha, Andrea, Tony…” Mark began to list the people.   
“And me,” Steve finished. “That’s how you always are with me when I don’t mess things up. So that’s...”  
“A pretty raw version of myself,” Mark finished.   
“I never knew,” Steve said.   
“Well now you do, Rogers,” Mark said standing up. “Come on, the sun is setting, and you guys need to set up your tents.”  
“What about you, though?” Steve asked.   
“What about me?” Mark asked back.   
“Did you bring a tent?” Steve finally asked. Mark just shook his head.   
“Nope,” Mark answered.   
“Where are you going to be sleeping?” Steve finally asked.   
Mark looked up, and Steve followed his gaze. “The trees look fine. Plus the forecast said no rain. I got the equipment to keep me warm. I thought it would be fun to relive those days of being a kid,” Mark said smiling.  
Steve gave an uneasy look to Mark.   
“What?” Mark asked. “Better me alone in the trees than sharing a tent with Joey.”  
Mark saw Steve’s face flush with jealousy. Steve’s jealousy quickly faded when he heard Mark’s laughter.   
“That’s not funny,” Steve said in a serious tone.   
“Oh yes, it is,” Mark disagreed. “Besides, Thaddeus and Gabriel could pop in to check on us. They have a history of doing that. I will be fine, and you will be okay. You’re sharing a tent with Sharon. It will throw them off.”  
“How do you know who I am sharing a tent with?” Steve asked curiously.   
“Someone may have tampered with the list you had and put you and Sharon in the same tent,” Mark said innocently.   
Steve stepped forward and hugged Mark. Mark smiled and looked at Steve.   
“You really are going all out to help me with this, thank you,” Steve said as he leaned in and kissed Mark.   
“Of course, Steve,” Mark said as soon as they pulled from the kiss. “I will always do what I need to protect you.”  
Steve released Mark from his hug but held onto Mark’s hand. “Come on, the others might worry about what is taking so long,” Steve said as he led the way. Steve was enjoying this trip more as he spent time with just Mark. Steve walked forward and saw the light of the campfire far ahead. He felt a tug back when he turned to see Mark standing there looking into the woods.   
“What’s wrong?” Steve asked.   
“It’s quiet,” Mark said as he looked around.   
“It is, it’s nice,” Steve said standing there looking around. “Come on, let’s go back to the camp.”  
When they arrived at the camp, Steve had to let go of Mark’s hand so Sharon wouldn’t see. Mark looked up and smiled at Steve as he walked away to Andrea and Tony. Steve walked over to his tent and grabbed his bag. Steve opened the tent and began to set up the sleeping bags.  
“Steve?” Steve heard from behind him.   
“Yes?” Steve asked looking at the opening. Sharon leaned down and looked at Steve.   
“Hey, so there you are. Sorry, I didn’t set up a sleeping bag for you, I didn’t know you had it already. I was looking for a spare from the others,” Sharon said smiling.   
“Thanks, Sharon,” Steve said but then felt a sudden wave of sadness. He remembered when Mark and he went on vacation in the cabin. How much fun they had together and another opportunity to enjoy the outdoors is lost all because Steve didn't dare to say he was in love with Mark. Steve felt a hand on his back.   
“You okay, Steve?” Sharon asked.   
Steve didn’t answer. He just remembered the conversation with Mark a few minutes ago in the woods. Mark admitted the side Steve always saw was rare, it never came out. But with Steve, that’s the Mark he knew and loved. He hated this whole situation keeps him from learning more about Mark.   
“I don’t know Sharon, it’s just a lot going on in my head right now,” Steve confused. Steve looked over at Sharon and saw her thinking for a moment. Sharon stepped into the tent and closed it behind her.   
“Listen, If you want to do something, then tomorrow will be the day. Thaddeus and Gabriel plan to arrive in the morning, I’m not sure what time. But they will leave in the evening, hopefully. They only plan on giving one surprise visit during this team building. After they leave you can do what you want,” Sharon said.   
Steve was confused about what Sharon was saying. “I don’t know what you mean,” Steve said trying to hide what he was thinking about to Sharon.   
“Please, Steve. I’m not stupid. You really don’t think I figured out who that engagement ring was from?” Sharon said. Steve looked at Sharon shocked. “It wasn’t hard, you hurt him pretty bad when you said it belonged to a woman.”  
“So you know?” Steve asked looking down.   
“I knew for a while,” Sharon said.   
“So why do all this? Show me attention, grab my arm?” Steve asked looking back up at Sharon. “I didn’t want to give you hope, I did that to your Aunt, I couldn’t do that to you too.”  
“Steve…” Sharon said putting her hand on Steve’s arm. “Aunt Peggy knew. She told me a while ago that there are different loves in this life. She did love you, but she knew it wasn’t the typical love everyone expects. She would do anything to protect you, and she knew you would do the same. I did all that to protect you.”  
Steve began to nod his head as he realized what Sharon was saying. “I did love her and would give my life for your Aunt. She was probably the first person who saw me for Steve. She was never impressed by soldiers or muscles. She was a true friend to me.”  
“And you were to her,” Sharon said. “And I am one to you.”  
“So since the Young Avengers event, you planned this? To protect me,” Steve asked.   
Sharon paused for a moment. Steve figured Sharon was gathering her thoughts. “Pretty much, Steve. I see how you two are together. You love him don’t you?”  
Steve nodded his head. It was tough, but he felt relief saying this to Sharon. He was worried how she would react because Peggy Carter and Steve held a history.   
“Then you knew when Thaddeus and Gabriel will be gone. Until then,” Sharon said pulling out her sleeping bag, “We will sleep in our own separate sleeping bags.” Sharon smiled at Steve.   
“Thanks, Sharon,” Steve said leaning forward to hug her. Sharon hugged Steve back. “I was scared of you finding out.”  
“Did Sam care?” Sharon asked.   
“No, but he was the first to know,” Steve confessed.   
‘Well if he didn’t care then you should have known I wouldn’t. You’re my friend Steve. I will be here to help you out,” Sharon said as she turned to open the tent. “Take some time, you looked like that wore you down. I am going to check to see if the teens need any help setting up their tents. I think I saw Peter Parker struggling.”  
Steve let out a light laugh. “Thanks,” Steve said as he saw Sharon smile then leave to help the teen. Steve grabbed her sleeping bag and began to set it up in the tent. Sharon was right, it did wear on Steve, but now he felt like a weight lifted off his shoulders. He was thankful to know he had another ally to help him in this situation. Steve could hear the others outside. He began to realize more and more that everyone out there supports him and Mark and he was never afraid to be himself with Mark around them. But he still needed to be careful. Sharon warned him Thaddeus and Gabriel would come unannounced tomorrow. He wasn’t ready for them to find out, not yet anyway.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26  
Mark  
Mark sat on one of the top branches of a tree trying to get some rest for the night. The issue was Mark couldn’t sleep. He still felt uneasy about how he felt when he was in the woods earlier. He looked over at Steve’s tent, Mark figured Steve was sound asleep. Mark was happy Steve didn’t put up a fight that Mark wouldn’t be in the tents, Mark needed to keep watch.   
Mark turned his head when he heard a twig snap. Mark looked around trying to figure out where the noise came from. If he wasn’t looking at Steve’s tent, he might have caught the culprit. He heard more rustling in the distance. Mark quickly moved to jump down from the tree. When he reached the ground, Mark began to head toward the noise. He carefully walked between the tents to not wake anyone. He picked up his pace once he was deeper in the forest.   
Mark looked around trying to see any clues of what made the noise he heard out here. He heard more footsteps ahead and quickly ran to see what he would find. Mark hide behind a tree. He slowed his breathing so no one would hear him. Mark could hear voices in the distant. It sounded like a lot of people were in the woods. Mark looked around the tree and saw the Young Avengers sitting around talking to one another. Mark sighed when he saw the teenagers all there. He should have thought the kids would take advantage of being away from home and want to sneak into the woods to hang out away from the adults.   
Mark walked around the tree and toward the teenagers. They all looked at Mark and looked worried. Mark looked around and realized they snuck into his and Andrea’s bag, which they brought some alcoholic beverages for the adults to enjoy. Mark put all the pieces together and just folded his arms and looked at all of them.   
“How much trouble are we in?” Brian asked holding a bottle of mead in his hand. The other kids all stared at Mark wondering what he would say. Mark walked over to his bag and grabbed it. He saw many of the bottles still in his bag.   
“More trouble now that I know you guys did a shitty job actually sneaking this. You guys really do need to build your skills,” Mark said.   
“What?” Peter asked.   
A few of the kids shushed Peter when he asked the question. Mark laughed.   
“You guys are teenagers,” Mark began. “I think we should expect you to do some normal teenager stuff like this. I guess I just expected you to be better at sneaking it.”   
Mark could see the kids all relax a little when he said this.   
“So you aren’t going to tell on us?” Greer asked looking up from where she sat.  
“No, I’m not going to tell,” Mark said, and the group let out a collective sigh. Mark laughed. “I just need you guys to head back and get to bed. Next time try not sneaking out when you know an assassin isn’t nearby.”  
“Okay,” The group said as a whole. Mark took a step back when they answered. He didn’t expect to hear all of them answer at once. Maybe the teens were becoming more of a team than Mark expected them to be. The teenagers walked passed Mark toward the camp. Peter stopped in front of Mark.   
“You really aren’t going to tell on us?” Peter asked.   
Mark smiled, “No, just be better about it next time.”  
Peter smiled and nodded as he continued walking. Mark looked up and saw Pietro and Wanda walking behind Peter with a smile on their face. They both knew Mark would keep his word.   
Mark turned to watch the teenagers walking back to camp. He took a step forward and kicked a bottle of mead on the ground. Mark sighed and picked it up. He looked around and saw a few more bottles. Mark walked over and picked up the empty bottles and put it into his bag. He wanted over to the last bottle and bent down to pick it up. When Mark grabbed it, he froze. He listened closely and heard someone approaching. Mark held the bottle and was ready to attack the person behind him.   
“Stand down, it’s just me,” Mark heard as he eased the tension from his body.   
“Why are you out here?” Mark said turning to Bucky.   
“Same reason as you, to ruin the party for the teenagers. You beat me to the punch though,” Bucky said looking into Mark’s bag. “Any mead left?”  
Mark looked down and grabbed a bottle and handed it to Bucky. They both walked over to where the teens were and sat down. Mark pulled out a bottle for himself and opened it.   
“A tad hypocritical of us. We ruin the teens drinking but enjoy it on our own,” Bucky said as he took a drink.   
“No offense to the teens, but we need it more than they do,” Mark said as he drank. “Any word from Sharon on what is going to happen here?”  
“She said we should be good on this trip. She also let Steve know she knows he is gay and that Steve is in love with you,” Bucky said. Mark almost spit his drink out when Bucky said those words he turned to look at Bucky worried. “Calm down, she didn’t say anything else to him. Sharon let Steve know she was an ally. She told me he looked really down and upset, almost like he was alone. She needed to let him know what her aunt told her about Steve. He took it well.”  
Mark let out a sigh of relief. He trusted Sharon but was worried she let out more than she should have.   
“You don’t need to worry about her giving away more than she needs to, Sharon knows what she is doing,” Bucky said reassuring Mark.   
“I told Tony about this,” Mark confessed.   
“So Stark is finally in the game as well?” Bucky asked.   
“Yeah, we need him in the game now. Things are moving faster than I expected,” Mark took another drink.   
“Will he be able to stop it?” Bucky asked as he sat up.   
Mark took a bigger drink before answering. “I doubt it, but he will be in, and that’s what we need when it moves to the next level.”  
“What’s our game plan when it moves to that point?” Bucky asked.   
“I’m still figuring that part out. The Board Members still didn’t make the moves I expected them to make. Until then I guess we wait,” Mark said looking at Bucky. “Have you spoken to Steve? About anything?”  
“You mean about the past?” Bucky said avoiding eye contact with Mark.   
“Yeah, you told me you were going to talk to him. I haven’t asked him about it but…”  
“Clearly I didn’t yet,” Bucky said tossing the empty bottle in front of him. He presented his empty hand as a way to ask for another drink. Mark handed Bucky another bottle of mead.   
“You should say something…” Mark began.   
“What is there to say?” Bucky said opening his second bottle. “Would you talk to the person who ruined your life?”  
“I would listen,” Mark said.   
“I’m not sure how to even approach the conversation. Yeah, I messed up his life for years, but now what? Act like everything is how it was before it even happened? Before he was even frozen in ice? We can’t go back to how things were. And let’s face it he is going to ask Stark to be his best man at his wedding.”  
“Well if that happens then you can be my best man,” Mark said taking a drink. Bucky turned to look at Mark.   
“You’re serious aren’t you?” Bucky said.   
“Yup,” Mark said leaning back.   
“How are you going to have me as the best man over Andrea?” Bucky challenged.   
“Easy, she is officiating the wedding. She became an ordained minister. I threw out the idea to her, and she almost pissed herself in excitement. So I am out one best man.”  
Bucky smiled as he looked down at his bottle. “And your solution is to pick the opposite of what Steve picks? Either way, Stark and I are going to be a best man.”  
“I figured it would make Steve happy. He has both his best friends in the wedding,” Mark said.   
Bucky let out a small laugh. “I would have to find some way to make it up to him before I was involved in the wedding.”  
“What would you say to him if you could apologize?” Mark asked as he sat up.   
Bucky was silent for a moment as he thought. “I don’t think sorry can even begin to say how much I want his forgiveness. I ruined him for years, Mark. Then when you entered his life, I almost took you from him twice. He should hate me with every fiber of his being, I would if I were him. I just want him to know if I could I would have fought harder against the brainwashing. I see him now and how happy he is with you, well before he decided to keep it hidden. The person who cared about him saved me just to bring back Steve’s best friend. I want to be that person for him again…I just want him to know I am sorry. I don’t know if he will ever forgive me.”  
“I forgive you, Bucky,” Bucky turned his head to see Steve standing there. Bucky turned back to look at Mark.   
“How long did you know he was there?” Bucky asked in a serious tone.   
Mark just smiled as he took a drink. “Steve’s been there since I asked you if you spoke to him.”  
Bucky tossed some of his mead on Mark. “You are an asshole you know that?”  
Mark blocked the mead from hitting his face, but still got covered in it. Mark heard Steve laughing as he walked over to sit near them. “That he is, but it’s why we enjoy him,” Steve said.   
“Besides I think Steve needed to hear all of that,” Mark said in his defense.   
Bucky was silent when Mark said that. It looked like he was embarrassed by all he said. Mark looked over at Steve who was looking at Bucky.   
“I meant what I said, Bucky. I forgive you. It took a while, but I think I am ready to forgive everything that happened,” Steve said.   
Bucky looked up at Steve. He only nodded his head.   
“Well I think that is the most we will get out of Bucky regarding emotion,” Mark said reaching into his bag. He pulled out a mead for Steve. Steve hesitated to grab it.   
“Take it and join us, it’s been some time since the three of us hung out,” Bucky said getting comfortable. Steve smiled and grabbed the mead from Mark.   
“I don’t think we ever truly hung out, at least not the three of us,” Steve said getting comfortable near Mark.   
“Well if you don’t count the times I went into an emotional meltdown when my memories were gone, then no,” Mark said.   
“God, don’t remind me of those. I hated seeing you go through them. It was painful,” Bucky said.   
Mark heard Steve laugh at Bucky’s reaction. It was nice to hear Steve not being worried about hiding himself and finally able to be with his best friend and his fiance.   
Mark heard a noise in the distance, and he realized Bucky and Steve were too busy talking to notice it. Mark grabbed the empty bottles and put them in his bag. He stood up.   
“Well I will leave you boys to hang out,” Mark said as he put his backpack on.   
“Leaving us already?” Steve asked with some disappointment in his voice.   
“I think you two need to chat. I will see you in the morning,” Mark said as he began to walk away.   
“Saw hello to the owls in the tree for me,” Bucky said. Steve laughed at Bucky’s joke. Mark just waved his hand without turning around. He continued walking until he found the source of the noise he heard.   
“So our boys are finally getting along?” Mark heard. Mark looked back and could see Bucky and Steve in the distance. Both were laughing now. Mark smiled looking at the sight.   
“I guess they are. Bucky told me you let Steve know you knew about us,” Mark said turning to look at Sharon.   
“Sorry, I know you told me not to say anything…but if you saw him like I did, you would have done the same thing. He looked so lost and sad in the tent. I needed to let him know he has someone else here watching out for him,” Sharon said stepping closer to Mark.   
“I’m glad you did,” Mark said as he began to walk. Sharon followed. “He needed to know someone was on his side. The other Avengers have been giving him a hard time about it. You being his friend right now might be what he needs to stay strong through this.”  
Sharon smiled at Mark’s kind words. “I see what Bucky meant…” Sharon let out.   
Mark turned to Sharon and gave a curious look. Sharon let out a laugh.   
“Sorry, Sam said the same about you too. The world’s deadliest assassin, who know this would be the man I met behind the legend. You don’t match any of the stories I heard about you,” Sharon said.   
“Thank Steve for that,” Mark said smiling.   
Sharon smiled, “I’m glad he met you. For both of your sakes.”  
Mark smiled at the kind words then his smile faded. “So what brought you here? Found out anything we need to be concerned about?”  
Sharon let out a sigh. “I just got word from Thaddeus and Gabriel. They are planning an exercise when they come. It’s going to appear to be impromptu, but they have it planned.”  
Mark stopped walking and turned to Sharon. “What are we looking at?”   
“Team competition,” Sharon began to explain. “Two teams, mixture of adults and teenagers.”  
“That doesn’t sound too bad, what’s the task?” Mark asked.   
“They want to make it like capture the flag, but up the game,” Sharon said.   
“Okay now I am scared,” Mark said.   
“Basically build the divide between everyone. Yeah, bragging rights will happen, but there will be paintball guns to use to tag people out. But who knows if they have any traps waiting for you guys,” Sharon crossed her arms as she looked down.   
“You’re worried,” Mark said.   
“You’re not? I mean they are going after you directly. You are at the top of their list. I mean if something happened to you…”  
“Nothing is going to happen,” Mark said as he looked up in the trees. “This is all going according to plan.”  
Sharon watched as Mark jumped up to climb the tree. “You really are making yourself the focus. You know he won’t handle if something happens to you.”  
Mark stopped climbing as he slowly looked down to the ground. “I will tell you the same thing I told everyone else. If something happens to me, be there for Steve. He is going to need the support.”  
“You aren’t planning on dying, are you? Sharon finally asked.   
Mark smiled as he stood up to climb further. “Not planning on it. If I can avoid it, then I will.”  
Sharon smiled as she watched Mark climb the trees. “I hope I get an invite to the wedding!” Sharon shouted.   
“You will,” Mark said from the trees. “See you in the morning.”  
Sharon waved as she walked away. Mark watched as Sharon walk away then climbed up further. When Mark reached the right highest, he got comfortable on the branch. He turned to see where he was earlier. He still saw Bucky and Steve talking. Mark smiled to himself, he was happy to see Steve finally being able to be himself without Mark needing to be there. Mark leaned back on the branch and got comfortable. He needed to be ready for tomorrow.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27  
Tony  
Tony felt his head begin to hurt more as he stood there to hear Thaddeus explain the activity for the day. Tony zoned out as he looked around at everyone else. Some of the teens looked excited about the activity. Tony was envious of their enthusiasm. Tony felt an elbow at his side when he looked to see Andrea glaring at him. Tony decided to turn his attention back to the instructions.   
“So we will split you into two teams: a mixture of Young Avengers and Avengers. It’s simple, this whole forest is your battleground. You will be playing capture the flag. But since you are all Avengers, powers will be allowed,” Thaddeus said.   
“Well that is unfair for those of us who have none,” Clint said folding his arms.   
“Yeah well we will have to make due,” Andrea agreed.   
“Well that’s why to take out other players, you will have these,” Thaddeus pulled out a small gun. “Paintball guns to tag out other players. Simple rules, if you are shot, you're out for the round. Sharon will be the referee and keep tabs on who is in or out.”  
“What stops us from cheating?” Mark asked. Everyone turned to look at Mark. “What are we all Eagle Scouts? We can easily wipe off the paint and stay in the game if Sharon doesn’t see us.”  
“Which is why you will also be wearing this,” Gabriel showed a vest. “When this vest comes in contact with the paint, it will notify Sharon you are out. If she sees you in the game, you will lose points for the team.”  
“I could have designed a better-looking vest,” Tony said angrily.   
“You know they probably have another use if you didn’t make them,” Mark said hinting to Tony. Tony needed to find out what another purpose these vests were designed to do. Gabriel handed each persona vest. Each person put on the vest.   
“Well we look like assholes,” Natasha said.   
“We sure as hell do,” Mark agreed smiling at Natasha. She shoved him for agreeing with her joke.   
“When your name is called please walk over here. This will be team one,” Thaddeus said.   
Tony waited as each person was called over to the first team. Heard Brian and Joseph get called. Then Tony turned when Andrea was called over.   
“I am going to take you down,” Andrea said as she walked away.   
“Well, this sucks,” Tony said with a sigh. Steve then was called over along with Bucky. Then Pietro was called without Wanda. Last was Nadia and Clint. Tony looked at his team. Mark, Natasha, Wanda, Peter, Sam, Monica, Jennifer, and Greer. Tony was happy to have both Natasha and Mark on his team.   
“You're going down Creed,” Tony heard Joseph shout at him.   
Mark just rolled his eyes ignoring Joey. “How quick do you think those paintball guns shoot?” Mark said to Natasha.   
“Why not find out,” Gabriel said pointing the gun at Mark. It fired, and Mark moved and caught the paintball in his hand.   
“Not fast, this is going to make it difficult to hit the speedster,” Mark said looking at Pietro. Pietro just smiled, agreeing with Mark.   
“We will come up with a plan,” Natasha said looking at Wanda. “You’ll help me take down your brother right?”   
Wanda looked at Pietro and smiled. “I wouldn’t want to do anything else this whole game.”  
“Awesome, this is how we increase bloodlust in the Young Avengers,” Mark said throwing the paintball at the tree. Tony watched as it splattered on the tree. He turned back to looked at Mark. Mark was studying the paint for a moment. Before he turned his attention back to Thaddeus and Gabriel.   
Tony did the same as they continued to explain the rules. “You have twenty minutes to hide your flag. No powers can be used to harm another person, but you can use your powers to assist in hitting a target with the paintballs.”  
“The hell does that mean?” Tony asked.   
“Means people like Peter can shot his web to immobilize a target then hit them with paint. Or people like Brian and Nadia can fly and shot at us with paintballs,” Mark clarified.   
“And I can’t use my Iron Man suit?” Tony asked.   
“Did you bring it?” Mark asked Tony. Tony just looked away wearing an annoyed expression. “Course not, who would think to bring weapons when we had no idea about this.”   
“Okay so Stark will be out early,” Mark said as he looked at the team.   
“Don’t you dare count me out that early,” Tony said back at Mark. Mark just laughed at Tony.   
“Here are your flags,” Gabriel said holding a blue flag and a red flag. Steve went up to grab the blue flag and Tony went to grab the red flag.   
Tony returned with the flag. “I would prefer it be red and gold for my team, but I will deal.”  
Tony looked up to both Natasha and Mark glaring at him. “What?” Tony asked.   
“And who said it was your team?” Natasha questioned.   
“Well, You know what I meant,” Tony defended himself. “I still find it unfair I can’t use my Iron Man suit.”  
“It looks like Sam won’t be able to use his wings. They said abilities, so no tech for anyone. If I were to guess they are going to make Andrea not use her contacts,” Mark explained.   
Tony looked over at Andrea and saw both Thaddeus and Gabriel talking to her. It seemed Mark was right. They took Sam’s wings, and Andrea was arguing about something, most likely about her contacts.  
“Can’t they just take them from her?” Greer asked.   
“Nah, she is blind as a bad without them. They are her tech but also used for her vision as well,” Mark said taking the flag from Tony. Tony watched as Mark walked over and handed the flag to Greer. “You’re in charge of hiding this. Go off as far as you can go and hide it without letting any of us know where it is.” Greer nodded as she took the flag.  
“Why shouldn’t she tell us where it is? We need to know where to defend,” Tony protested.   
“Because they will know where we are guarding,” Natasha said defending Mark’s plans. “That’s what I would do to find the location of the flag. Find where the others are protecting and search that area.”  
“Right,” Mark said looking at Natasha with a smile. “Greer is the best at maneuvering through this forest. She can find the best hiding place. Once you hide the flag, you will need to find Natasha and Wanda.”  
“Why us?” Wanda asked looking at Natasha.   
“Cause we are one team. We will work to take out your brother. He will be used for scouting out our location. If we take him out, they won’t be able to know where our team will be hiding,” Natasha explained.   
“So we have the plan there,” Mark said looking at the other team.   
“What about the rest of us?” Peter asked.   
Tony watched as Sam walked over from handing in his wings. “Looks like I’m grounded.”  
“Gives us a big disadvantage for sure,” Mark said. “They have two members who can fly.”  
“Don’t count me out. I can dodge those paintballs as well as you can, plus” Sam said spinning his gun, “My aim has gotten better.”  
“Awesome,” Mark said as he thought. “So how are you at hitting those in the air?”   
“That’s my specialty. I usually fight in the air so I can take those down,” Sam said.   
“Alright so next team will be Sam, Jennifer, and Monica,” Mark said looking at She-Hulk and Captain Marvel. “Sam can help you learn to dodge, and you three will focus on taking out their other scouts. The other team will use them to look for the flag. They will think we will have a team guarding it and try to flush us out. It will be your task to take down Brian and Nadia.”  
“How do you know that’s what they are going to do?” Tony asked. Tony watched as Mark looked over at the team again. Tony followed Mark’s gaze, and it landed on Steve.   
“That’s what he would do. More importantly, they are going to focus on their two biggest threats,” Mark said.   
“You and Natasha,” Sam said. Tony looked over at Sam and gave an offended look. “What?” Sam said. “Would you want to be in a gunfight with either of them?”  
Tony was about to protest but stopped himself with his mouth wide open. “Fair point,” was all he could muster to get out.  
Tony turned back to his team. “So what? Parker and me on another team?” Tony asked.   
“No, Peter will be going solo,” Mark explained.   
“What?” Peter said louder than he should have.   
“Natasha and I can’t do it. You are going to need to hunt for the flag. Sam is right they will be looking to take us out. If they get one of us out, then the field is too big for the other to spread out to defend the flag. We need to play it safe and have us both stay back and guard.”  
“That might through them off,” Tony let out. Everyone looked at Tony confused. “What? Playing it safe, not really Mark’s style. They might think you are going to pull a risky move to win this.”  
“I’m counting on that actually,” Mark said.   
“So who should we worry about the most?” Tony finally asked. Mark looked at the other team. Then he turned to Natasha and Wanda.   
“You sure you can get Pietro?” Mark asked.   
“Consider him already out of the game,” Wanda said with Natasha smiling and nodding.   
“He might be the biggest worry I would say. We also have Bucky to worry about. My guess is he is going to come after me,” Mark said.   
“Why would he go after you?” Tony questioned.   
“Bragging rights,” Mark confessed. Tony let out a small laugh of disbelief.   
“Steve will probably play it safe and stay back to guard while still being able to give orders. I'm not worried about those who can fly, Sam will be able to take them out with Monica.”  
“We still have Joseph and Andrea,” Wanda said.   
“If we are lucky Joseph will just annoy Andrea enough, and she will shot him herself,” Natasha said.   
“We can rely on hope,” Mark looked back at them. “Andrea might actually be the wild card.”  
“How so?” Tony asked.   
“No tech, she will find another way to get to us. She worked alongside me for years remember. I don’t know what skills she would have picked up on when I needed to act in the last moment. Either way, Stark you’re with me. If Bucky and Andrea are going after us, we stand a better chance fo taking them down together.”  
“What I like to hear. So it’s just Joseph we don’t know what will do,” Tony agreed.   
“Yeah, are we all find adapting to whatever he does?” Mark asked the team. They all nodded. “Alright, I will let Thaddeus and Gabriel know we are ready to start the countdown.   
“I will walk with you, teammate,’ Tony said as he followed Mark. Both Tony and Mark walked for a bit before they were out of hearing range of their team. “You don’t think this a simple team-building exercise do you?”  
“Damn right I don’t,” Mark said. Mark looked over to the other team. Tony could see Bucky looking at Mark.   
“He has the same thoughts,” Tony said. “Will Sharon know something is up?” Tony asked.   
“Probably but she would have warned us about their true plan. We don’t know what they have planned right now, so we need to play it safe and just go along with this stupid game,” Mark said.   
Tony and Mark reached Gabriel and Thaddeus. They saw Steve and Joey walking together as well   
“So how about we make a deal Mark?” Joey said to Mark. “If I am able to land a hit on you, then I get a date.”  
Mark just rolled his eyes. Tony could see Steve glare at Joey. No matter how many times Steve got jealous, it never got old.   
“Come on, if you think you are that skilled, then you shouldn’t be worried,” Joey tried to bait Mark.   
“Why not offer the lad a bone,” Thaddeus said. Mark was now glaring at Thaddeus for his remark. “He has been pining after you for a while.”  
Tony looked at Steve to see if Steve’s glare shifted, but now it looked like Steve was a deer in headlights. Tony sighed, he was hoping Steve at least had the balls to glare at Thaddeus.   
“Fine, if you can hit me. We are ready to begin. What’s the signal for the game to start?” Mark asked.   
Thaddeus Looked at Steve and Joey. “We’re ready as well,” Steve said.   
“They head into the woods, we will set off a siren when the twenty minutes is up,” Thaddeus said.   
“Good luck,” Steve said as looked at Mark.   
“Don’t need luck when we have skill on our side,” Mark said as he walked backward trying to intimidate Steve. Tony just saw Steve laugh as he walked away.   
Tony and Mark made it back to the others. They reminded them of the plan and went their separate ways. Tony was walking beside Mark at this point and time for a while as they went deeper into the woods.   
“So what do you think their real plan is for all of this?” Tony finally asked.   
“Not sure, I have been mulling that over for a while now. Maybe to see how we do when pitted against one another. They separated us into teams in a strange way,” Mark answered as he paused to look around.   
“What do you mean?” Tony asked as he leaned against a tree to take a break.   
“They separated the Avengers, all of us. If you wanted to tet team building to the extreme wouldn’t you put those who work really well with one another on the same team?” Mark asked.   
“We work well together!”Tony protested. He heard Mark laugh.   
“Yeah but you and I don’t work as well as you do with Andrea. I mean they separated you and Andrea, Clint and Natasha, and even if they wanted to split Steve and myself up, they separated me from Bucky,” Mark said. “Those on this team have a history of working together but no one on either team I would say works seamlessly together except maybe Joey and Brian.”  
“I thought it was weird they left those two together on the team. You think it means anything?” Tony asked.   
“Not sure, but for now we play along, I’m more worried about these,” Mark said grabbing the vest he wore. “Something tells me they do much more than just tell Sharon who was hit by paint. The paint on the tree stained really well. It would be difficult to wipe off. But Thaddeus and Gabriel were waiting for a reason to bring up the vests.”  
“So that it wouldn’t seem weird we need to wear them,” Tony said.   
“So you guys thought it was weird too,” Tony heard from behind him. He turned to see Bucky walking up from the woods.   
“Shouldn’t you be with your team?” Tony said.   
“I am,” Bucky replied and behind him was Sharon.   
“How did you guys find us?” Mark asked. “We have been walking since we left the campgrounds.”  
Sharon held up her tablet. “The vests have a tracking device on them. I went to find Bucky to tell him then we found you guys.”  
“Why the hell would they be tracking us?” Tony asked.   
“The plot thickens,” Mark said as he looked around.   
“No one else is near us,” Sharon said showing her tablet. “This is probably the safest place for us to chat. Any info on the vests goes to me. So I know what they are tracking.”  
“Any idea what they are trying to prove with this exercise?” Tony asked.   
Sharon just shook her head.   
“We were hoping you two had some idea,” Bucky said.   
“Sadly we do not,” Mark said leaning against the tree. “Least we have paintball guns and not actual real weapons here. If they had it their way, they might have us all fight to the death.”  
“We would all easily turn on them. We are in the middle of the woods, we could easily make it seem like an animal attack,” Bucky said. Sharon glared at him. Then she turned to Tony and Mark.   
“So what is our plan?” Sharon asked.   
“We got none,” Mark replied.   
“Looks like we need to follow along with their game. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious,” Tony said to the others.   
“Alright, we will head back to the blue team's side. I will keep an eye on all of you guys. If I spot trouble, I will find the nearest person, and we will head over to help,” Sharon said as she began to walk away.   
“Oh and if we are playing this game,” Bucky said as he quickly turned to fire his paintball gun. Tony watched as Mark dodged and the paintball hit the tree. “You are going down.”  
“Trying to cheat before the siren goes off huh?” Mark said in an annoyed voice. Tony was sure Bucky was going to hit Mark in the head with that shot. Bucky just laughed.   
“It’s either Joseph or me taking you out, and I doubt you want to give him the joy of going on a date with you,” Bucky said as he walked away.   
“Fair point,” Mark said. Tony watched as Mark looked at the paint splattered on the tree. Tony walked over to the area and looked as well.   
“What’s up?” Tony asked.   
“It looks different than the one I hit against the tree. Same color green but…” Mark paused as he grabbed his gun. He took a few paintballs out and put it in his pocket.  
“You think they put something in the paint?” Tony asked.   
“Don’t know but wouldn’t put it past them,” Mark said as he covered his gun again. Tony and Mark turned as they heard the siren go off.   
“Looks like the hunger games have begin,” Tony said as they both walked in the direction of the blue team’s side.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28  
Andrea  
“This is stupid, why can’t I use my contacts,” Andrea said as she walked through the woods.   
“Will you keep it down lass, if you keep shouting they will find us,” Joey said walking behind Andrea.   
“I hope they find us, I’m a smaller target and if you're out then you won’t follow me anymore,” Andrea wasn’t sure who she was more annoyed with right now: Joey for being partnered with her or Steve for partnering Joey with her.   
“Come on now. We will win. You want to shoot Tony, and I want to shoot Mark.”  
“And I want to shoot both you and Steve for putting me through this,” Andrea said under her breath. She continued walking for a little while longer then stopped. Andrea was pushed by Joey who didn’t stop when she did. Andrea turned around and gave him a death stare.   
“What?” Joey said in a whisper.   
“Someone is coming,” Andrea said pointing in the direction she heard footsteps. She crouched down and moved to a nearby tree. She waited to see who it was walking. From the noise pattern, it sounded like someone casually walking through the woods. Andrea peaked around the tree and saw Sharon walking through the woods.   
“Not our target,” Joey said to Andrea. But then Andrea noticed Sharon holding a tablet. Andrea wondered what information she could get from Sharon. Andrea stood up and began to walk toward Sharon. Joey just watched Andrea from behind the tree.   
“Hey Sharon,” Andrea said. Sharon looked up at Andrea with a smile. “Lucky I saw it was you, I almost shot you.”  
“Yeah well, I could see you and Joey on this screen. I would have been able to dodge. I thought you two might be hiding to ambush people as they came by,” Sharon explained as she walked over to Andrea.   
“So there might be people we can ambush nearby?” Andrea asked.   
Sharon just smiled. “I can’t tell you, it would be cheating for the referee to tell you where the other team was.”  
“Please tell me that wasn’t your brilliant plan to get information out of Sharon,” Joey asked as he walked over.   
Andrea let out a sigh. “Well, I couldn’t think of anything on the spot. Leave me alone!” Andrea shouted back.   
Sharon laughed. “Don’t feel too bad, your not the first to try and get information out of me. Luckily your team captain yelled at Bucky for trying.”  
‘Steve is such a boy scout it drives me insane,” Andrea said crossing her arms. “We could have used some information on where the other team was hiding.”  
“Well, isn’t that one of the qualities we enjoy about Steve?” Sharon said smiling.   
“Yeah,” Andrea said as her arms dropped.   
“Still this is sort of war, and we need to use any advantage we can get,” Joey said. “What stops us from stealing that tablet from you?”  
Andrea raised an eyebrow at the idea Joey just proposed.   
“Instant disqualification,” Sharon explained.   
“Well, that’s out fo the question. If the game exciting at least? I feel like we have been wondering around for a while and we have run into no one the whole time,” Andrea asked.   
“What do you mean by exciting?” Sharon asked.   
“Any epic shootouts? Any battles wages against multiple people? Has anyone been eliminated yet? I think the playing field might be too big for such few numbers,” Andrea explained.   
“Oh?” Sharon said as she looked at the tablet. “Looks like a few people are clashing right now.”  
“Really?” Andrea asked as she looked around. She was silent for a moment.   
“What are you…” Andrea held up her hand to silence Joey. After a few more moments she sighed.   
“Sorry, when you said a clash was going on, I thought Maybe I could tell whereby the sound of guns going off. But I guess they are too far away,” Andrea confessed.   
“Yeah,” Sharon said as she studied her tablet. This is what Andrea was waiting for. She needed to make a few guesses, but she figured she could map out the tablet based on how Sharon was looking at it. Sharon looked at the top right corner of the tablet. “It looks like they are too far away for you to hear. About a mile, I would guess.”   
“Does it look like an exciting fight?” Andrea asked.   
Sharon looked at the same spot again. “Not really. Least not what I would call exciting.” Then Sharon looked to the middle fo the left side of her tablet. “Looks like the person who would be exciting to watch in a fight is still walking through the woods. He might be playing it safe,” Sharon said.   
“Well, I doubt you could tell us where this person is,” Andrea said with a smile. Sharon laughed.   
“Sorry, no cheating. I am going to head off now. Be careful you too,” Sharon said as she began to walk away.   
“You too, avoid ambushes,” Andrea shouted.   
“Careful, someone might hear you,” Joey said.   
“Shut it, Sharon said no one was around,” Andrea explained.   
“Oh, right,” Joey said.   
“Besides,” Andrea said looking up. “She told us where to find someone.”  
“What are you doing?” Joey asked.   
“Unless you have a compass, I am trying to see where the sun is. It is past noon so we can tell which way is west. Based on Sharon looking at her tablet, I would assume the person is west of here,” Andrea explained.   
“How did you figure that?” Joey asked.   
“Well, it’s assuming her tablet was configured to always point north. If it was then we head west. If not, then we take a chance and go that way,” Andrea said pointing left of where Sharon stood. “Take your pick.”  
“You got all that from watching her behaviors?” Joey asked.   
“You really need to pay attention more if you are going to get the most information you can get out of people,” Andrea said as she looked up again. “I am guessing…” Andrea pointed forward, “This is west.”  
“I thought it was scary to watch Mark fight, guess I shouldn’t be surprised. He trained you after all,” Joey said following Andrea.   
“Damn right you should be scared. And from my guess, we are either walking in the direction that Mark is in or it could be Natasha, so be on guard,” Andrea explained.   
“Got it,” Joey said as he pulled out his paintball gun ready. Andrea just shook her head, it looked like she would just use Joey as a human shield when needed.   
They walked for a little while longer, then Andrea grabbed Joey and pulled him behind a tree.   
“What did you do that…”  
“Shhhh,” Andrea said cutting off Joey. She looked at the tree and could see in Mark walking in the distance. She was lucky. She only lightly saw movement, and if she didn’t hide, she knows Mark would spot her and Joey from this distance. Joey looked and saw what Andrea saw. Joey then pointed, and Andrea followed to see Tony following behind Mark watching their backs.   
“This is perfect,” Andrea said.   
“Good on you mate, your skills paid off,” Joey said. Andrea couldn’t help but smile in glee at what Joey said. As much as he annoyed her, he was right. “What do we do now?” Joey asked.   
And now Andrea was stumped. She didn’t think this far ahead. Yeah, they found Mark and Tony, but Andrea didn’t really think of a plan to take down Mark. Taking down Tony would be easy between Joey and herself, but Mark was another story. Then Andrea heard footsteps behind her, She quickly turned to see Bucky walking past her and Joey.   
“What are you doing?” Andrea whispered.   
“Going to take down Mark. A sneak attack won’t work on him. But he will want a fair fight if you approach him,” Bucky said as he kept walking.   
“Hey mate, I called dibs on hitting Mark,” Joey said. Bucky turned and shot his gun at Joey, hitting him in the chest.   
“Guess you won’t be getting that date with Mark,” Bucky said as he kept walking.   
Andrea laughed, Joey just looked at her raising his hands up. “Are you really going to let him shoot your teammate?”  
“I saw nothing,” Andrea said as she watched Bucky. “You think you can take him?”   
“Don’t know,” Bucky said. “But we will find out.”  
“We sure will,” Andrea heard, and she saw Mark standing there waiting for Bucky. “You really couldn’t resist a chance to go against me, huh?”  
“What can I say, last time you won. This time I am gonna take you down,” Bucky pulled out his gone as he kept walking.   
“You can try, but we both know the result will be the same,” Mark said as he readied himself. Andrea watched as both men stood feet apart ready to battle.   
“Wanna give the signal Andrea?” Mark shouted. Andrea was caught off guard for a minute. She didn’t know Mark spotted her. She stood up and readied her gun.   
“Okay, ready?” Andrea shouted as she aimed her gun upward. Then she fired it. As soon as she fired her gun, she heard shots fired from both Bucky and Mark. She watched as both tried to bombard the other with bullets. Both efforts were in vain as each dodged the other’s shots. Soon it became a hand to hand battle with close-range gunshots. Andrea watched as Mark would block a punch from Bucky then fire his gun, only to have the gun hit to throw off Mark’s aim. Mark then would kick Bucky’s gun to have it hit the ground before he would come in with a shot himself. It was insane to see both of these men blocking each other’s hits with such speed and accuracy.  
“Show offs,” Andrea heard from the other side. She could see Tony hiding near a tree much like she was. Then a stray paintball hit the tree scaring Tony for a second. Andrea then could hear both Bucky and Mark laughing.   
“Did you know they were this good?” Joey asked. Andrea looked over at Joey, for a moment she forgot he was there.   
“I knew Mark was this good, but I didn’t know Bucky could keep up. But Mark is holding back,” Andrea confessed.   
Joey’s jaw dropped as he looked from Andrea to the fight. “Holding back? At this pace?”  
“Andrea is right you are holding back,” Bucky said as he shot another paintball at Mark. Mark dodged and punched Bucky’s chest knocking him back a few steps.   
“Yeah, but when I go too hard the fun ends. What’s the point of that?” Mark asked taunting Bucky.   
“Don’t let your guard down with me,” Bucky said as he ran forward.   
“I never do,” Mark said with a smile, and again they engaged in close combat blow for blow. Mark hit Bucky’s hand away causing a paintball to stray and hit the tree near Andrea.   
“Hey, watch it!” Andrea shouted. Just like with Tony, she heard laughter from Bucky and Mark. Finally, both stood and pointed their gun at the other’s face. Both stood still for a moment.   
“You know if you have any paintballs left, you won. I don’t know if I have any left, my gun is a tad light,” Mark said with a smile.   
“I’m not sure if I have any left either, guess there is only one way to find out,” Bucky said with a smile. Both men stood there for a moment after the intense fight.   
“Ready?” Mark asked. Bucky nodded. “One,”  
“Two,” Bucky said continuing the count.   
“Three,” both men said at the same time as they pulled the trigger of their gun. Then Andrea heard a loud blast of a real gun go off. She turned to try and listen to where it came from.   
“Bucky!” Andrea then heard Mark shout as she turned to see Mark holding Bucky and lowering him to the ground.   
“Shit,” Andrea shouted as she and Joey tried to run out but Andrea heard the shot again, and she saw the bullet hit in front of her. “Sniper!” Andrea shouted.   
Mark turned to her, Mark was out in the open with Bucky. Mark quickly pulled Bucky up and threw his metal arm over his shoulder. It looked like Bucky was still conscious and able to move. Andrea saw Mark running for cover, she needed to think fast. She shot her gun randomly in the direction she thought she heard the sniper fire. She saw Tony do the same as well as Joey until Mark was behind a tree. Andrea hid behind a tree and heard a shot. The bark on the side of the tree she hid behind flew off. She only just missed being hit.   
“How bad is the shot?” Andrea shouted.   
“It’s a through and through, he got hit in the chest!” Mark shouted back. Andrea was able to move and see Mark was taking off his shirt to help bandage up Bucky’s wound.   
“Where?” Andrea shouted back.   
“Left bicep area, it hit his lung, and he is struggling to breathe!” Mark shouted. Andrea looked at Mark tightened the bandage and Andrea could see Mark covered in blood. Bucky was losing too much blood right now. Andrea looked over at Joey.   
“Can you get help? You have the best endurance for running, Tony and I couldn’t make it in time, and Mark is trapped,” Andrea said in a hurry.   
“Alright,” Joey said as he readied himself. “Give me cover, and I will run for help.”  
Andrea nodded. She looked out across the area at Tony. He locked eyes with Andrea, and she held up her gun. Tony held up his and Andrea counted with her fingers. One three the both stood out and shot a few rounds. At that moment, Joey ran toward the direction Andrea, and he came from. He was soon gone out of sight. Andrea then took cover behind the tree and heard another shot go off. She looked at Mark and saw a cloud of smoke. Mark was fine as he peered around the tree. It looked like Mark was thinking. They were at a huge disadvantage right now, they didn’t know where the shots were coming from. Andrea then saw Mark look at her. Mark pointed to his eyes and blinked. She then realized what he meant and blinked to have her eyes glow neon green. Andrea then assessed where the last few bullets hit. She was able to track where they were coming from and get a general area of where the sniper was coming from.   
“I need more data!” Andrea shouted. She looked at Tony was shrugged his shoulders. She sighed and looked back at Mark. He was thinking. Then Mark bent down and grabbed his vest. Andrea saw him looking at it and then at her. Andrea then touched her vest. “This is how they are tracking us,” she said to herself. Andrea then saw Mark working to rip off Bucky’s vest. When she saw this, she knew Mark thought the same thing. Andrea took off her vest and held it waiting for Mark to take the lead. She looked over, and Tony had taken his vest off as well.   
“I need a distraction. Then I can get you that data!” Mark shouted.   
“Are you going to do something stupid?” Andrea shouted back.   
“Do I have a fucking choice?” Mark replied.   
“He does raise a fair point, we are sitting ducks out here, and Bucky needs help,” Tony shouted.   
“Alright,” Andrea conceded. “Plan?”  
“Tony throw your vest toward the woods then sprint over here!” Mark shouted.   
“What? Why am I the bait?” Tony shouted.   
“You’re not, I am. I need you here to watch Bucky!” Mark shouted. “When Tony tosses his vest, you do the same, Andrea. Then I am going to run to draw the attention of the sniper. You follow me and track the shots.”  
Before Andrea could protest, she saw Bucky grab Mark’s leg. Mark kneeled down to speak to Bucky. She wondered what he was saying, probably informing Mark that Steve would not forgive any of them if Mark died. But Mark was right, they had no fucking choice.  
“Ready?” Mark shouted. Andrea picked up her vest.   
“Ready!” She replied, and she heard Tony shout too.   
“Go!” Mark shouted as he threw his and Bucky’s vest in opposite directions before running forward in the open. Andrea threw her vest into the woods and turned to see Tony running to where Bucky was. Tony got to cover, and Mark was running forward. “Watch ahead!” Mark shouted telling Andrea to focus. Then Mark jumped to the left, and a bullet hit where he was. Andrea was able to track the shot. Then Mark jumped and rolled to the side again where another bullet hit.   
“I need one more to triangulate!” Andrea shouted.   
“Course you do,” Mark said as he got up to run. Mark was no running toward the trees. He then slid, and the bullet flew by hitting the ground. Andrea realized that one was aimed at his head. Andrea then was able to do the calculations. She found the place where the bullets were coming from.   
“A hundred and twenty meters west of you. The fourth tree from the front line on the left, the sniper is at the top,” Andrea shouted.   
“Can you toss your gun?” Mark shouted.   
“You are really going to defend with a paintball gun?” Andrea asked.   
“Again, do we have a fucking choice?” Mark shouted.   
“I hate our fucking options right now!” Andrea shouted back.   
“Guys hurry, he is losing a lot of blood,” Tony shouted.   
“Toss it!” Mark shouted. Andrea threw her gun and Mark came out from behind the trees and caught it. He took quick aim and shot a barrage of paintballs in the direction Andrea gave. Andrea heard the gun clicking as it was out of bullets. She saw Mark run toward Bucky. Andrea followed.   
“We don’t have much time,” Mark said as he began to pick up Bucky. Bucky growned in pain as Mark lifted him. “Sorry,” Mark said. Tony went to the other side of Bucky to help carry him.   
“It’s okay, just let’s get out of here now,” Bucky said.   
“Lead the way, Andrea,” Mark said to Andrea.   
Andrea turned and looked around. “Where do we go?” Andrea asked.   
“Anywhere but here would be great,” Tony said. “Take us the way you told Joey to run, it’s our best chance to find help.”  
“Alright, this way,” Andrea said as she ran leading the way. Between Tonny and Mark, they were able to carry Bucky pretty quickly. They ran for a while before slowing their pace, figuring they were out of range of the sniper.   
“How are you holding up?” Mark asked Bucky.   
“I feel bad for every time I put you in a horrible situation like this,” Bucky said to Mark. Mark laughed.   
“He lost a lot of blood, you’re going to have to try and stay awake, don’t fall asleep on us,” Tony said.   
“Too much pain to even think about that,” Bucky said.   
Andrea turned back to look at Bucky, he was pale now and looked to be in bad shape. She began to speed up her pace. She was worried about Bucky.   
“You will make it, don’t worry,” Mark said as he put his hand on Bucky’s wound. Andrea hurried, and she finally saw someone.  
“Finally!” Andrea said as she ran forward.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 28  
Steve  
Steve looked down at his chest where the paintball splattered him. He then wiped some of the paint that hit his face off from his cheek. “Really? You are getting too much joy out of this,” Steve said looking at his assailant.   
Natasha smiled. “What? You left yourself wide open for an attack. Not my fault our team planned better.” Natasha looked over at Peter who was waving the flag in his hand.   
“Better planning? Your team had you and Mark. The odds were stacked against us from the beginning,” Steve defended. Really Steve was a sore loser and hated to admit he lost fair and square.   
“Speaking of which, where is Mark?And Tony? They missed the whole showdown. Mark was the one who planned it,” Natasha asked as the other team members came toward them.   
“Yeah I haven’t seen Andrea, Bucky, and Joseph during the whole game either,” Steve said looking around. Steve turned to Sam as he walked over. “Have you seen your missing teammates?”  
Sam shrugged his shoulders, “They went off in another direction. I assumed they were able to attack you guys from behind.”  
Natasha began to laugh, “How much you wanna bet Bucky and Mark got into a shootout and the others were casualties?”  
“You really think those two would focus on attacking each other?” Steve asked.   
“I saw Bucky head in the direction we saw Mark and Tony go,” Wanda said. Then Pietro walked over glaring at Wanda with his leg stained from the paintball Wanda hit him with.   
“Ya did good,” Natasha said patting Wanda on the back. Wanda gave a smug look on her face at Pietro. He glared harder at her.   
“It’s most likely something like that happened between Mark and Bucky,” Sam said. Steve turned to look at Sam in a confused way. “They have been pretty competitive lately. And Natasha is right, Bucky would beeline straight for Mark to take him out.”  
Steve let out a sigh. “Just when I thought those two were getting along.”  
“Who said they weren’t?” Sam asked. Steve looked from Sam to Natasha who nodded at Sam’s response.   
“They have been hanging out a lot lately. I thought you would notice your best friend and Mark hanging out,” Natasha said.   
“I guess I didn’t,” Steve said looking around. “We still don’t know where they went.”  
“Someone is coming from over that hill,” Peter said.   
“It looks like Joey,” Monica replied.   
Steve saw Joey’s expression and began to think of the worst. He began to run toward Joey.   
“You guys stay here,” Sam said as he followed Steve.   
“But…” Greer began.  
“Stay.” Natasha reinforced Sam’s command. Steve made it to Joey with Sam and Natasha following.   
“Please not let it be Mark,” Natasha said as she stopped running.   
“It’s not, it’s Bucky. A sniper,” Joey said between breaths. “Mark and Bucky were engaged in an epic fight when Bucky was shot. They distracted the sniper so I could get help. They are pinned down by him.”  
“Where?” Steve asked.   
“About a mile that way,” Joey said. “But it will be hard to backtrack.”  
“I got them,” Sharon said running forward. “We can use this tablet. It looks like Andrea, Tony, Mark, and Bucky are all together. They haven’t moved much from their spots.”  
“Then let’s head out,” Steve said grabbing the tablet. But stopped since he wasn’t sure how to use the device. Natasha sighed and grabbed it from Steve.   
“I will lead the way,” Natasha said heading out. “Watch the kids and call for help.”  
Sharon nodded, and Steve ran behind Natasha. They ran for a while before Natasha stopped to look at the tablet.   
“What’s wrong?” Steve asked.   
Natasha looked worried as she stared at the tablet.   
“Don’t leave us in suspense,” Sam said.   
“They all moved really quickly for a moment, then nothing. None of them have moved for a while now,” Natasha said.   
Steve’s mind began to think of the worst. None of them moved? There is no way all four of them would be taken down by a sniper. But Joey said Bucky was hit. It was an ambush, and from that distance, any of them would be easy targets. ‘We don’t have time to waste,” Steve said.   
“Right,” Natasha said as she began to run forward again. It was a little while longer that Natasha was able to spot someone. “There!” She shouted. “I see Andrea!”  
Sam looked at the tablet. “The thing must be broken, it still says they are half a mile away from us,” Sam said looking at Andrea waving.   
“Who cares what it says, they are there,” Steve said running forward. He got to Andrea first. “How bad is he hit?”  
“It was a through and through in the chest, Steve,” Andrea said. “He lost a lot of blood. We need to get him medical attention now.”  
Steve looked over at Bucky. Then Steve felt his chest begin to tighten. He felt his breathing become more heavy. Steve hadn’t felt like this in a long while. He looked back at Bucky being carried by Tony and Mark and began to have a flashback to the war. He then saw two soldiers carrying a dead soldier. It was Bucky, back when he was in the war with Steve.   
“No,” Steve said.   
“He is still alive Steve,” Steve heard. It sounded like Andrea, but he turned to see a nurse there. “He needs medical attention.”  
“Then we need to get him Medical attention!” Steve shouted as he stepped forward. Steve began to push one of the soldiers out of the way to carry Bucky.   
“Careful Steve, we got him,” one soldier said to Steve. “We carried him this far.”  
“I have him,” Steve said as he began to grab Bucky.   
“Steve, don’t move him, he could lose more blood,” Another soldier began to say. Steve felt his breathing tighten even more as his anger rose.   
“I got him, who are you two to him anyway?” Steve shouted. “He is my brother in arms and best friend. I should carry him!”  
“Brother in arms?” one soldier asked. Then Steve pushed the soldier away from Bucky. As the soldier fell, the nurse ran over to him.   
“What the hell, Steve,” The soldier said looking up at Steve. Steve felt more anger begin to rise as his panic rose with it.   
“Natasha! Sam!” The other Soldier called for, and Steve saw another nurse and a soldier going to help Bucky.   
“No,” Steve protested as the soldier who was holding Bucky let the two other’s carry him and began to block Steve. “What are you doing? You don’t know where they are taking him!”   
“They are getting him help, Steve,” The soldier said pushing Steve back. But Steve began to use more force as the soldier slid into the dirt to hold Steve back. The nurse and soldier on the ground stood up and began to help to hold Steve back.   
“What are you doing?” He is being taken away. I can’t lose my friend again! I lost him before…” Then Steve began to feel his chest become like led. He couldn’t breathe. His mind went back to that memory of Bucky on the train. Bucky was hanging there for dear life, and Steve was there. Steve standing there as the ideal soldier. He reached out his hand, but the train was falling apart.   
“I will save you Bucky!” Steve shouted. Then an explosion came from the train and Steve watched as his friend fell into the mountains from the train. “Bucky no!” Steve began breathing heavily at this point. He bent down and soon the world was fading to black.   
Steve woke from the bed breathing heavier than he did when he blacked out. “Where is Bucky!” Steve said looking around.   
“Calm down,” Mark said walking up to Steve. “He’s in surgery. You blacked out.” Natasha walked over and put her hand on Steve’s Steve was breathing heavier now trying to catch his breath. He never felt this out of breath for a while. He put his other hand to his head as he grabbed Natasha’s hand.   
“He’s…he’s not in the mountains?” Steve asked.   
“We came from the campgrounds, Steve. Bucky was shot. He’s fine now and in surgery like Mark said,” Steve turned when Natasha said this, and he saw Mark there.   
“Mark, thank God,” Steve said leaning in and hugging Mark.   
“Easy there, Steve. You had a panic attack,” Mark said pulling away from the huge.   
“A what?” Steve said in confusion.   
“You had a flashback to when you were in the war with Bucky. The sight of Mark and Tony carrying Bucky must have triggered it. You weren’t making sense, but then Mark realized it when you began to come after us,” Natasha explained.   
Steve looked at Mark. “I went after you?”  
“Well more like you shoved Tony. Luckily, Bucky wasn’t hurt. Natasha and Sam carried him to where Sharon was. We got the Quin Jet to come to take him to the hospital. I had to hold you back, then you couldn’t breathe, I think you passed out from hyperventilating,” Mark said as he put his hand on Steve’s arm. “I know you had nightmares, but has that ever happened before?”  
Steve took a moment to think. “I don’t think anything like that has happened before. Yeah, the nightmares seem real, but I never had it happen like that before.”  
Natasha nodded. “I thought so. They are going to keep you here for a little while, for observation.”  
“What do they need to observe?” Steve asked.   
“They are going to evaluate you,” Mark explained further. “Everyone saw you’re reaction. They are worried is all. Maybe the stress is feeding into your PTSD?”   
“Stress? From what?” Steve asked quickly defending himself. Then both Natasha and Mark glared at him. “Oh…yeah stress from that. But I am fine…”  
“We don’t have a choice,” Natasha said.   
Steve looked at Mark and heard him sigh. “Thaddeus and Gabriel saw your reaction. Naturally, they had concerns over the whole situation. They are setting some mandatory medical appointments.”  
“Mandatory appointments?” Steve asked.   
“Therapy, Steve,” Natasha answered.   
“No, I am not going to therapy,” Steve protested.   
“I told you this is how he would respond,” Mark said to Natasha.   
“We don’t have a choice, you need to go, or Thaddeus and Gabriel will bench you permanently. They already have you benched for the next few weeks,” Natasha said.   
Steve looked over at Mark. “What do you think?”  
Mark sat down next to Steve on the hospital bed. “Honestly?” Mark asked.   
Steve was hesitant to answer. He didn’t know what Mark would say. Would Mark think he was crazy? “Yeah, do you think I need therapy?”  
“I think you need someone to talk to who is legally bound by the ethical code of her degree and licensure,” Mark answered.   
“Huh?” Steve asked confused more than before.   
“You haven’t been able to talk to anyone about any of this? About your worries about coming out, about hiding it from the Board Members, about how you are constantly beating yourself up over the fact I am going along with the plana, and you worry how far I can be pushed before I break,” Mark explained.   
Steve looked down after hearing Mark’s words.   
“You wanted to know what I thought. I think you can have someone to talk to about that,” Mark said as he reached for Steve’s hand. Steve felt Mark’s hand, and he grabbed it. He held onto it tightly.   
“You know, it scares me how much you know me. I tried to hide how much I worried it would push you to your breaking point,” Steve said looking up with a smile.   
Steve watched as Mark smiled back. “But you know me just as well Steve,” Mark said as he ran his hand through Steve’s hair. “And you know I would stick through it for you, and only you.” Mark leaned in and kissed Steve on the cheek. Steve began to feel his face grow hot and he knew he was a shade of red by now.   
“I can’t believe I would miss you turning red from cute moments like this,” Natasha said. Steve laughed at her comment. “So you will do it?”  
“But what about the flashback? Won’t they want me to focus on that?” Steve asked.   
Natasha leaned forward before she spoke. “Mark is right Steve. This whole initiative has put you through more stress than I have ever seen you go through before. It might stem from all those conflicts you never could resolve on your own.”  
Steve turned from Natasha and looked at Mark. “And you support me saying whatever I feel about you to this person? The good and the bad?” Steve asked.   
“The good, the bad, and the ugly. Just do what you need to feel better Steve,” Steve felt Mark put his hand through Steve’s hair again. Steve missed it when Mark did this.   
“So who is this doctor or whatever?” Steve asked.   
“Psychologist,” Natasha correct.   
“Yeah, that. Who is it?” Steve asked again.   
“Someone Sharon suggested. She heard what Thaddeus and Gabriel were planning. She is required to see a psychologist here per the protocol of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on dangerous missions. She suggested this lady cause she felt you could trust her to tell her everything,” Mark explained.   
Steve thought for a moment. “Sharon really suggested her?” Steve asked. Both Natasha and Mark nodded. “What’s her name?”  
“Dr. Joanne Faust I think. She studied psychology at Columbia,” Mark explained.   
“So a New York girl?” Steve asked.   
“Does that really matter? So will you go?” Natasha asked.   
Steve looked at Mark then nodded. “Yeah, what’s the worst that could happen?” Steve said.   
“Told you that you would be the one to convince him,” Natasha said to Mark. Mark didn’t look at Natasha, he just stared at Steve and smiled. It made Steve feel another blush coming.   
“I did nothing, he made the decision on his own,” Mark said.   
“I am hoping it will help this situation…and us,” Steve said grabbing Mark’s hand again and squeezing it.   
“We will let you get some rest,” Mark said standing up. “We need to see how Bucky is doing.”  
Steve watched as Mark and Natasha began to walk toward the door. “Wait,” Steve said, and both turned to look at him. “Can you stay?” Steve said looking at Mark.   
“Steve…Thaddeus and Gabriel are walking through the halls of the building. I don’t know when they are going to check on you. They won’t like it if…”  
“Shut it,” Natasha said looking at Mark. Mark turned with a surprised look toward Natasha. “Let him have this moment. I will wait by the door and keep watch. If they are coming by I will knock on the door.”  
Steve watched as Mark’s expression changed from surprise to a smile. “Thanks.”  
“Now go,” Natasha said pushing Mark closer to Steve. “Remember I will knock,” Natasha said as she grabbed a chair. She smiled at them before she closed the door.   
Mark slowly turned to Steve. “So first time in a long time that we have been along.”  
“Sorry, just after all that…I kind of need you here with me,” Steve said. Steve saw Mark smile as he walked over to Steve.   
“Well move on over,” Mark said, and Steve moved to make room for Mark on the bed. As soon as Mark lied down, Steve wasted no time to claim his spot by lying on Mark’s chest. Steve felt Mark’s chest move up and down from laughing.   
“What? You got made about Sharon being on your spot on the bed, this is my spot,” Steve said as he moved to make himself more comfortable.   
“It’s always been your spot,” Steve heard as Mark wrapped his arm around Steve. Steve felt his face grow hot again. He was glad Mark couldn’t see how much he still made Steve blush. “Enjoy it. Natasha will give the warning, but we don’t know how long you have until they come. Get some rest.”  
Steve didn’t respond. He wanted to protest and say he can be in the spot as long as he wanted, but his fear ruled him right now. Mark was right it could help him work through his fears and anxiety around the board members, maybe even help Steve learn not to hide it anymore. Steve yawned once before he shut his eyes. Right now, he felt safe and warm, he always did when he was next to Mark.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30  
Tony  
Tony was waiting in his office at Stark Industries. He felt nervous, and Tony Stark never gets nervous. But he didn’t know how to approach this situation. He spoke to Steve about it earlier, but the more Tony thought about it and stared at the evidence, it pointed to one thing in his mind. Tony turned his head when he heard the door to his office open.   
“Not knocking now?” Tony asked.   
“I never knocked when I entered your lab, why would I do it here?” Mark asked as he walked in. Mark made sure the door was shut behind him before he began to speak again. “Did you run an analysis on the paintballs?”   
Tony reached over for a file and threw it on the other side of his desk. Mark grabbed it and opened the file.   
“You were right. It’s small traced but some type of neurotoxin to effect a person’s weakened state. We saw it’s full potential work on Steve with his PTSD,” Tony said looking out the window.   
“It would explain why some of the Avengers have been behaving oddly, nothing to concern about but I definitely see a change in them,” Mark said.   
“Who have you noticed it in?”Tony asked looking at Mark.   
“Everyone who was shot. Clint is jumpier when either Natasha or I enter a room. Pietro is more protective of Wanda lately, which is getting on Wanda’s nerves. Nadia’s anxiety has gone up but could be from being around Andrea. Monica has been closed off as of late. Brian is having some difficulty holding back his anger in training. The only one I haven’t seen much change in is Joseph. But like I said the most noticeable has been the effect on Steve. He had a full blown flashback when he saw us carrying Bucky. I never saw him act that way even when he has seen me get shot,” Mark said as he closed the folder.   
“Most likely the effects will wear off in a few days. So we should see everyone behaving normally. And yeah… it was rough on me when Rogers had his panic attack. How is he?”  
“Better, surprisingly agreed to go to therapy,” Mark said putting the folder down.   
“How much convincing did that take? He refused therapy when he was first unfrozen,” Tony said with some surprise in his voice.   
“Not much actually,” Tony raised an eyebrow to Mark’s words. “I told him he could use it for the other stress he is dealing with. Talk about the other things…”  
“About his fears of coming out and hiding his engagement to you?” Tony asked completing Mark’s sentence. Mark nodded. “Might help him finally get over this dumb fear.”  
“It’s not dumb Tony,” Mark said in a stern voice. “We both saw how his anxiety can affect him. I doubt anyone could call it dumb now.”  
“Sorry,” Tony said standing up. “You’re right. So anyone else you saw a change in?”  
“No, not that I noticed,” Mark said watching Tony as he walked around the room.   
“What about in yourself?” Tony asked looking out the window again.   
Tony could hear Mark laugh, “Tony, I wasn’t shot. There is no way the toxin…”  
“I wasn’t really talking about the toxin, Mark,” Tony said as he turned around. Mark was just looking at Tony with a confused expression. “I saw the shot that hit Bucky, Mark.”  
“Well all did, Tony,” Mark said back in his defense.   
“No I mean I saw it…go through you to hit Bucky,” Tony finally said.   
Mark was laughing lightly now, “Tony, if I were hit, I would be in the hospital too with Bucky.”  
“True, unless something changed in you too,” Tony said as he walked back to his desk.  
“Like what?” Mark asked.   
Tony opened his drawer and pulled out the shirt Mark wore during the paintball game. Tony pointed at the hole through both sides of the shirt. “You tell me, what would allow a bullet to hit you right through the chest and through Bucky but leave you completely unharmed?”  
Mark was frozen by the evidence in front of him. He glared up at Tony.   
“I didn’t tell anyone so calm down, I needed to hear it from you. As far as everyone else knows Bucky was the only target…”  
“Bucky knows,” Mark said looking up at Tony.   
Tony just nodded. “How long has he known?”  
“Since I realized they were back,” Mark answered. Mark reached over at his shirt on the desk.   
“The day at the mall?” Tony asked.   
Mark shook his head, “Before then. Bucky was the only one to really remember me taking that hit when I was doing the demonstration,” Mark said as he touched his arm. “He noticed it healed in two days. Then the mall incident happened…then…”  
“Then what?” Tony asked stepping forward.   
“We tested out my ability to form a dagger, and I did. We were sparring, and he had me try with no weapons while he had his. I formed a dagger to block his hit. He figured I needed the increased anxiety to tap into them again. He was right,” Mark said not making eye contact with Tony.   
“Then you tested out your other ability?” Tony asked.   
Mark just smiled. “I didn’t mean to test it out. It was the only way to make sure Bucky pulled through. How did you figure that one out, I was careful.”  
Tony reached over and grabbed X-rays from Bucky. “I was able to explain it away through his accelerated healing, but really? Healing his ribcage? The bullet hit him directly in the chest, Mark. Anyone would be able to pick up on the fact his bones should be shattered.”  
Mark finally looked up at Tony with a smile. “I wasn’t thinking about healing his ribcage, I was trying to stop the bleeding while repairing his lung. I guess I’m lucky you figured it out.”  
“Yeah, you are,” Tony said leaning against his desk. “I can keep this hidden for now, but whoever shot you will know something is wrong when you didn’t go down too.”  
“I know, but I can’t help that. My body heals itself on it own, if I know, I could have healed a minor wound on Bucky or something that way…”  
“Don’t talk like that,” Tony said cutting Mark off. Mark was confused. “I can’t deal with Steve crumbling to pieces after you are in the hospital again. He barely held it together when you went missing for a few hours. We both saw his anxiety and PTSD come out, if you were hurt, I don’t know what state Rogers would be in right now.”  
Mark just let out a sigh and smiled. “You get it,” he said.   
“I do. Not until I saw him actually fall apart did I know how bad his anxiety was around the board members. I know you tried to explain it. Sorry, I didn’t listen and needed to see it,” Tony said.   
“It’s alright, I guess now you can understand why I am fine being reckless with my life. They can’t kill me, well right now they can but not with my powers back,” Mark said.   
“Yeah, but they could kick you out of the Avengers, or imprison you for lying. They don’t know if you held the truth from them. My question is how did they come back? Or were they ever really gone?” Tony said as he put his hand on his chin.   
“Don’t know…” Mark said as he looked at the bookshelf. “But there was something someone said that is bothering me still.” Mark walked over to the bookshelf and flipped a book to reveal the keypad. Tony walked over and saw Mark enter the correct code.   
“Couldn’t you have at least humored me by getting it wrong the first time before showing me you knew the code?” Tony asked.   
“Sorry, but you want answers, and I don’t know any other way of getting him here as soon as possible,” Mark said with a smile. The bookshelf opened up revealing Loki’s staff again. It moved out and was in front of Tony and Mark.   
“Who are you calling?” Tony asked.   
Mark reached out and was about to touch the stone in the staff.   
“If you touch it, your body will vaporize. There is no way your body can handle that much power,” Tony heard from behind them. Tony and Mark turned to see Dr. Strange standing there. “You could have found a better way to contact me than threaten life by you touching that stone.”  
“Cause you have such great cell phone reception in the twisted dimension,” Mark said walking toward Strange.   
“So have you been watching us?” Tony asked   
“Not until I felt two great powers coming close to one another,” Strange said.   
“But Mark and I stand this close all the time,” Tony said.   
Mark rolled his eyes. “So that staff,” Mark said looking at Loki’s staff, “has as much power as I do?”  
“A different power. And it is fully ready to be used, while yours is on low right now. I thought you would be further along recovering your powers by now,” Strange admitted.   
“So you did know something when you brought the twins here,” Mark said.   
“I said I saw the light dim. It wasn’t burned out,” Strange admitted.   
“But the Amulet…”   
“Was used to augment his powers,” Strange said cutting Tony off and looking at Mark. “Not take them away. Like your healing ability, bringing someone back from the bed leaving you drained for years.”  
“So then what am I?” Mark asked looking at Strange.   
“I am still sticking with my original theory of alien,” Tony said to Mark.   
“He is human, I will tell you that much,” Strange said turning around and opening a portal.   
“Are you going to tell me?” Mark asked.   
Strange looked over his shoulder at Mark and Tony. “I can do you one better, I can show you,” Strange said as he began to walk toward the portal. “Come, this way.”  
Tony watched as Strange disappeared through the portal. Tony then looked at Mark who was looking back at Tony. “Do we do this?” Tony asked.   
“Well, I want answers,” Mark said looking t the portal. Mark then began to walk toward it.   
“You’re not going on your own,” Tony said following. “But if I die, Andrea should know it is your fault.”  
Tony heard Mark laugh as he walked through the portal. Tony stared at the portal for a moment before he stepped forward. “I can’t believe I am doing this,” Tony said as he walked through the portal.   
Tony walked through the portal and saw they were in the middle of a town. He saw houses near him, and it looked to be far from the city. Tony couldn’t tell where they were. He turned to see Mark standing near Strange looking around as well. Mark looked just as confused as Tony was about their location.   
“Any clue where we are?” Tony asked as he walked up to Strange and Mark.   
Before Mark could respond, Strange answered. “This is a place that should look familiar to Mark.”  
Mark paused as he looked around again. He looked more confused now, this place was supposed to be familiar to him?   
“Did I kill someone here?” Mark asked. Strange laughed as he stepped forward.   
“In your defense, that would have been my first guess as well,” Tony said to Mark. Mark laughed at Tony’s joke, and both looked at Strange.   
“Why do I feel you are having a little fun before you get to your point?” Mark said at Strange. Tony was beginning to get the same feeling as Mark about the whole situation.   
Strange smiled. “You’re right, friend. We are in the right place but not the right time.”   
“Time?” Tony asked.   
“Yes, we need to go back to for me to show you the truth,” Strange said.   
“Well, that was a waste of a trip. How the hell are we going to go back in time? I already know there are no spells powerful enough to influence the flow of time,” Mark said.   
“How the fuck?” Tony asked.   
Mark turned to Tony, “Looked into it decades ago. Thought I could maybe help figure out my origin. But nothing was strong enough. And I doubt you are any closer to time-traveling technology. So we are screwed,” Mark shouted.   
Tony turned to look at Strange. “But he wouldn’t bring us here unless there was something he could use. You know how to travel through time.”  
Mark looked over at Strange after Tony spoke. Tony was right. Dr. Strange wouldn’t bring them here for no reason. Mark waited for Strange to explain himself. Dr. Strange grabbed his amulet, and Tony saw a green glow from it.   
“This will help us manipulate time,” Strange said.   
“And that is?” Mark asked.   
“In time all will be explained.”  
Mark just glared at Strange.   
“Even I have to admit, that was a crappy pun,” Tony said in a serious tone.   
Strange laughed as he gestured his hands causing the stone to glow brighter. “No, but you will have your answers. Let me show you.” Tony and Mark watched as they were coved in a circle. Then Tony looked at the Sun as it began to move backward.   
“Shit, you are really changing time,” Tony said.   
“This is freaky,” Mark said to Tony. Both watched as the sun circled the Earth in the opposite direction and the seasons all changed around them, going in reverse. The passing of days sped up, and soon it was hard to tell when it was day and night. Tony shielded his eyes then the glow stopped and the circle faded. Tony looked around and saw a town where they stood. It looked to be something out of the history books.   
“It looks like we went back in time about a hundred years,” Tony said.   
“About a hundred and forty years,” Strange said. Mark looked at Strange. “Look familiar now?”   
Mark looked around the town, and then he slowly began to walk toward the town. Tony looked at Strange.   
“Are you really telling me we traveled back in time about a hundred and forty years?” Tony asked.   
Strange just smiled at Tony. “Yes, and not only that,” Strange began walking forward following Mark. “We're in Mark’s place of birth.”


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Long awaited back story

Chapter 31  
Mark  
Mark continued walking through the town. Dr. Strange wasn’t joking, it looked like it was over a hundred years into the past, but none of it looked familiar to Mark. He walked down the street and saw the people passing by him. No one paid him any attention. He began to realize what Stange had done.   
“You think they would look at us,” Tony said from behind Mark. Mark stopped, and Tony watched as a person walked right through Mark. “What the fuck!” Tony shouted.   
“We never left the protection of the barrier, did we?” Mark said looking at Strange. Tony was still stunned by the whole ordeal but turned to look at Strange.   
“You figured it out,” Strange said pointing out their physical forms back where they began.   
Mark turned to look at Tony. “You’re right, it’s weird they didn’t stare at us. We’re in our astral forms right now,” Mark said as he continued walking.   
“I would prefer you let me next time you put me in my astral form,” Tony said to Strange who only smiled as his reply. “Why are we in this form anyway?”  
“So we won’t alter the past,” Mark answered for Strange. Strange nodded agreeing with Mark.   
“Time travel is a dangerous thing. If we do anything, we can drastically change the past. This way we can observe without interfering in any way,” Strange confirmed.   
Mark knew Strange worried about him changing the past, and Mark didn’t blame him. But after all he had been through, would Mark change it? Mark paused as he looked at a house down a side road. It stood out to him. For some reason, he felt a pull to it. He turned and began to walk toward the home.   
“Do you even have a clue where you are going?” Tony asked.   
“Not at all, kind of just going on feeling,” Mark said as he led the way.   
Tony looked at Strange keeping pace with him. “It might be best if he leads,” Strange said.   
Mark stopped in front of the home. He was unsure what he felt right now. He couldn’t really explain it, but he knew some answers had to be here.   
“Are we gonna look inside?” Tony asked.   
Mark turned to Tony and snapped back into reality. “Yeah sorry, just had a weird feeling for a second.”  
“Well, this isn’t exactly a normal adventure. So let’s go with it,” Tony said as he walked up the steps to the front door. Tony tried to grab the handle, but his hand went through the door. Tony let out an annoyed sigh and turned back to Mark. “I guess we walk in together?”  
Mark smiled as he walked up the stairs. He turned back and saw Strange following him. Then Mark took a deep breath in and walked through the door.   
He stood in the foyer and looked around. It was a modest home. Nothing flashy, but no evidence of who lived here. Mark walked over to the stairs and held his hand against the wall. It felt like something he should know, but he couldn’t recall anything right now. He did have to laugh at the color of the walls, a pale blue. For some reason, Mark thought of Steve and how he might pick a color like this for a home.  
Mark turned when he heard the laughter of a baby. All was still then they heard “Really that’s how you are going to treat your teddy bear?” It was a woman’s voice. Mark wasn’t sure what was happening, but he felt a wave of calm hit him a soon as he heard her voice.   
“Mom?” Mark let out in a whisper.   
“Shit really?” Tony said looking at Strange. Strange just nodded.   
Then they heard the sounds of the woman singing to the baby. It wasn’t a known lullaby, but it wasn’t one he heard before. Still, it sounded familiar, almost like he knew.   
Then They heard a man interrupt the woman. “Look there is a firefly…”  
“Glowing in the night sky,” Mark said along with the man’s voice. Tony was just staring at Mark who looked to be lost in a daze.   
“You okay?” Tony asked.   
“I know that song,” Mark said looking at Tony.   
“I think you know them,” Tony said pointing to the room where they heard the voices. “Are you ready to meet them?”   
Mark wasn’t sure. He always wondered how they would look. “We don’t know if they even are…”  
“Mark, they are. You led us here, you froze when you heard your mom’s voice. You know the song she was singing. I think it’s time you meet them,” Tony said.  
“I agree with Stark, no time like the present,” Strange said. Mark just nodded as he walked by both Strange and Tony. It wasn’t until Mark was out of earshot that Tony asked Strange, “Something is going to happen soon, isn’t it?” Strange just nodded as he followed Mark.   
Mark walked down the hall and began to hear more fo the baby’s laughter. It made him feel anxious about seeing them. Mark stopped before he entered the room.   
“You better hurry or you will be late for work,” Mark heard the woman say.   
“They will make it out fine without me at the diner,” The man said. “I got the two most important people here with me right now.”  
“You sure those are his parents?” Tony asked Strange.   
“Yeah, I am sure the diner would succeed fine without the owner to open it up and cook the food. You want us to be homeless with our son. Hurry up and get ready.”  
“Yeah that’s Mark’s mom alright,” Tony said. Mark turned to glare at Tony. “What, you needed to get your sass from somewhere. Guess she is where ti came from.”  
Mark didn’t mind Tony’s joke that much. It felt comforting to know something of his mom was with him. If it was his mom, that is.   
“Fine, I will get ready,” The man said as they heard footsteps leave the room. Mark stepped forward and entered the room. There he saw a woman by the window playing with her son. The baby looked to be a few months old, but both mother and son were smiling at each other. Mark finally saw the woman. Short in built and blonde hair. She has similar color eyes to Steve. It shocked Mark in a way.   
“Wow…” Mark heard from Tony.   
“Don’t make any crude jokes,” Strange said warning Tony.   
“Granted I could but…” Tony stepped up next to Mark. “She isn’t who I expected.   
Mark watched the young mother move the teddy bear next to Mark. The baby would watch the bear then turn to the mother when the bear stopped moving. The mother smiled, then the baby hit the bear out of her hands. “Listen here, if you want to play then we are not going to knock toys out of your mom’s hands, got it?”  
“Definitely your sass,” Tony confirmed.   
“Alright, I’m ready,” They heard as they saw the man walk back in.   
“Shit,” Tony said looking at Mark then the man. “He looks like you.”  
Mark couldn’t deny it. Yeah, the hair was different, but if Mark cut his hair short then, he would look like the man’s twin. The man came in and picked up his son. “Hey,” the man said as he smiled looking at his son with loving eyes. The baby laughed and smiled back at his dad.   
“That’s creepy,” Tony said.   
Mark turned to look at Tony. “What?”  
Tony was hesitant to say, but he looked at Mark. “The way he smiled, said eye, and even looked just now. It’s how you look when you greet Steve. It’s just really weird seeing someone else do it.”  
Mark watched the man as he rocked his son in his arms. Mark couldn’t help but feel sadness right now. If these were his parents, they loved him. They were a happy family. What happened?  
“John, you better leave, or you will be late opening the diner. You know there will be a line. It’s Saturday,” The woman said.   
“Honestly, I think you want me gone so you can have him all to yourself,” John said playfully to his wife.   
“If I had it my way, both my men will stay with me, but you need to work. It won’t be long before he cooks with you at the diner,” the woman said standing up.   
“Did you hear that? Elizabeth is kicking me out and tearing us apart,” John said playfully to the baby. The baby just laughed as John turned away to keep the baby in his arms longer. Elizabeth slapped John on the back lightly for hi joke.   
“Don’t spread lies about me to him. You want to stay home cause you don’t want to work. But as soon as he can reach the counter, you are going to want him by your side all day there. Then I will be left by myself here,” Elizabeth said as she took the baby from John.   
“She is already guilt tripping us kid. We need to stay strong, her powers are great,” John said in a serious tone.   
“Oh hush,” Elizabeth said as she kissed John on the lips. “Don’t give away my secrets so soon.”  
The baby laughed as he looked from his mom to his dad. John leaned in a kissed the baby then Elizabeth. “I will be back late, enjoy your fun day with him,” And John left for the front door.   
Elizabeth and the baby both watched John as he left. Then Elizabeth turned to look at the baby. “Let’s not tell him we are actually having fun, might make him feel bad he has to work so much.” The baby laughed at his mom as she came in and kissed his cheek.   
“This is really creepy,” Tony said. But Mark was lost in his own thoughts. He turned to the door and went toward it. “Where are you going?” Tony said as he and Strange followed Mark.   
Mark left the house and looked around. He saw a car driving down the street with a driver who looked like him. He ran to follow the car. It was a few blocks before Mark topped running and saw the car’s destination, a diner. Mark heard Tony follow behind him, catching his breath.   
“Could you have warned me I was going to be running across town?” Tony said.   
“Sorry, I just needed to see it,” Mark said as he walked through the door.   
“You needed to see the diner?” Tony asked as he followed. “We were in their house? Wouldn’t you want to to see how you and your mom were acting? I mean we know she has as much if not more sass as you do.”  
“You don’t get it,” Mark said walking through the diner. Mark looked around, and he was surprised the place was busy. Elizabeth was right, there must have been a line outside.   
“Order up!” Mark heard as he looked into the kitchen. There was John, wearing an apron and cooking food for the people.   
“I think I am starting to get it now,” Tony said as he looked at the food.   
Mark walked to the kitchen and just watched John cook. He moved through the kitchen seamlessly. Grabbing what he needed and moving from dish to dish with no issue.  
“He cooks like you do,” Tony said as he watched John cook. “Wonder who is the better cook?”  
Mark glared at Tony and gave a half-smile at him. Of course, Mark was the better chef. He had many more years of cooking then John. But still, Mark watched John cook.   
“I am surprised Elizabeth got you to leave the house on time,” The waitress said putting in an order ticket.   
“Well she does know how to keep me occupied at home,” John said back.   
“Don’t lie, it's not Elizabeth who you were staying for. It was that little man of yours. Oh my, wouldn’t it be a scandal to know a man is coming between you and Elizabeth,” The waitress said leaning through the window.   
Then Mark heard John laugh and he turned to hear it. It was Mark’s laugh. Now he could understand Tony’s shock, it was weird hearing something associated with Mark coming from someone else.   
“Not my fault he is the best thing to happen to this town,” John said to the waitress.   
“Mmmhmmm,” the woman said skeptically grabbing a plate fo food. “We will see when it's his turn to cook in this diner.”  
“Don’t tell Elizabeth!” John shouted. “She has it in her head he is going to go do great things, her hopes is a leaves this small town. She would kill both of us if she knew we were plotting to keep him here at the diner with us.”  
Mark heard both John and the waitress laugh, but he just kept his words in his head. Mark then left the kitchen and through the front door of the diner before he was outside. Mark sat down on the ground just taking in everything he saw.   
“Why did you leave?” Mark heard. “It was like a feel-good movie in there.”  
“We don’t even know if they are my parents yet, there is no real way to tell,” Mark said trying to dispel any thought they were his mom and dad.   
“Were ya hit in the head? Did you not see and hear everything I did? Elizabeth has your sass and wit. That man,” Tony looked back at the diner, “could be your twin. He laughs like you and has the same mannerisms as you do.”  
“But can you say with a hundred percent certainty they are my parents?” Mark asked.   
Tony was about to protest, but then he just threw his arms down and sighed. He walked over and sat next to Mark. “I can’t. Even if they gave you the same name you have now, we can’t be certain. We just know their first names,” Tony said. “They seemed really proud to have you if they were their parents. Mom wanting you to go on and make an impact on the world.”  
“Do you want to be the one to tell her she was holding the world’s deadliest assassin in her arms?” Mark asked looking at Tony.   
“Fuck no, but…” Tony turned to look at Strange standing there. “You said something was going to happen. What is it?”  
Mark turned to look at Strange. He looked up for a moment. Then pointed in the sky, “That.”   
Mark and Tony looked up to see something coming down from the sky. “What is it?” Mark asked standing up.   
“It looks like a meteor, but it’s too small,” Tony said. “It’s coming in hot.”  
The three of them watched as the object came blazing through the sky overhead and crashed into the town. Only Tony and Mark braced themselves for the aftershock, forgetting they were in astral form. Mark began to run in the direction fo the object. He heard Tony following. They stopped about twenty feet away when they saw someone emerging from the object.   
“What the fuck is that?” Tony asked. The creature looked to be male with long white hair. Half of his face was grey while the other half was black. He had pointed features and ears. Then a beam shot out from the being cutting through several buildings and hitting all that were nearby. “Shit!” Tony shouted. Mark was about to charge forward when Strange was near him.   
“There is no point, we can’t interfere,” Strange said. Mark stopped himself and looked at Strange.   
“Who is that?” As Mark asked another wave of energy came out and blasted past them to the diner. The blast caused the dinner to go up in flames.   
“Shit…” Tony said as he looked at Mark. Mark was frozen watching the flames go up and then he finally turned to Strange for answers.   
“His name is Malekith, a dark elf. He is fleeing from Asgard after his race was wiped out from losing a war against the Asgardians. He is nearing the end of his time.” Strange said.   
“The end of his time?” Mark asked as he watched Malekith go into a frenzy attacking everyone in the city. He blasted building and slaughtered people. He was moving in the direction fo the home they visited.   
“He is burning through his life energy and his body cannot manage the power it holds. He used all he could to try and defeat the Asgardian army, but he lost. In a last attempt to flee he blasted himself into space where the energy slowly ate away at his organic body. He can’t manage the pain now, and sadly this town is paying the price,” Strange explained.   
They watched as Malekith ran through the town. Then Mark ran to follow, and then he saw Malekith stop and fall to the ground. He screamed as a large surge of energy came out of him. Again Mark braced himself as did Tony, but they felt no effects from the blast other than being blinded by the light. Then Mark was able to adjust from the flash fo bright light, he saw no building standing near them, only rubble. Mark was confused as he looked around. He saw Malekith Shout again as his body slowly faded grey and turned to ash. Then a red glow came from the area.   
“That’s how the town was wiped out?” Tony asked.  
Mark turned to look at Tony. “I always thought I was the reason it was wiped out. But it was this thing. But no one survived…” Then Mark turned when he heard the cries of a baby. Mark wasn’t the only one who heard it, the red glow soon lite up again. And Mark watched as a stone turned to liquid and quickly went toward the source of the cries. Mark ran to follow, and he saw the liquid then merge with the baby. Mark looked closer and could see a woman covering her baby. The woman was small in stature and had blonde hair. Mark stepped away slowly when he realized who it was.   
“What on Earth happened?” Mark heard as he turned to see a man and a woman standing there. They heard the cries and walked over to where Mark was standing. The woman reached down and grabbed the baby. She also reached to grab the bracelet and wrong from the woman protecting the baby.   
“Do you really need to get that too?” The man said.   
“What?” the woman said looking at the baby. “We can’t leave it here to die. He could be useful.”  
“Fine, but you’re feeding it,” the man said as he walked away from the rubble. Mark glared at both the man and woman for what they just did. Tony walked up to where Mark was when the two left.   
“We still don’t know it was you,” Tony said.   
“We do,” Mark said walking toward Strange.   
“How do you know?” Tony asked following.   
“Because I kill those two in a few years. They were horrible people and led me to fight back toward anyone who went near me,” Mark said. “I never knew they pried me out fo my dead mother’s hands and then robbed her.”  
Mark stopped when he reached Strange. “So what? Show me this why?” Mark asked.   
“I have to agree, this was a lot of bad to show us,” Tony said. “And we don’t really know how Mark got his powers. That liquid didn’t explain much.”  
“It’s the reality Stone. It was a curse plaguing the Asgardian’s for centuries while it was in the hands of Malekith,” Strange said.   
“A reality Stone?” Mark asked for clarification.   
“And infinity Stone. Much like this one,” Strange said pointing to the green stone in his amulet. “Of the one in Loki’s staff.”  
“So that’s why you told Mark not to touch the stone in the staff, he would have turned to ash like that guy,” Tony said looking back to where they saw Malekith disintegrate. “How did you know about the stone?” Tony asked Mark.   
“I didn’t I was going to wave the staff around and piss of Strange so he would show up,” Mark confessed. Mark looked at Strange, “How long have you known?”  
“I had my suspicions for a while, and the Ancient One did as well. You always had a similar signature pattern to the time stone, but it varied. It wasn’t until Loki’s staff came to Earth that I figured it out that there were multiple Stones. Maybe more in Asgard.”  
“You said he came from Asgard, right?” Mark asked.   
“Yes, Malekith fought with the Asgardians for centuries. I’m surprised the Asgardians didn’t realize you had the stone in you,” Strange confessed.   
Mark put his hand on his chest. “No…I think Frigga did. That’s…that might be why she wept when she felt the curse I bear,” Mark said looking at Tony.   
“But Mark has different powers than that guy,” Tony said.   
“It’s the reality stone, he can bend reality to his will. Malekith had Centuries to master it. You stayed with the abilities you have and never pushed further, that might be why is bonded with your organic body so well,” Strange said as he began to walk toward where they first arrived here. Mark looked back to where his mother lied. Then he turned back to the diner still in flames.   
“I’m sorry,” Tony said.   
“Don’t be,” Mark said as he began to walk. “If I never got this stone, then I wouldn’t have met you, Steve, or the rest,” Mark said with a smile. But Tony could see a trail of water from a tear running down Mark’s face.   
“So why didn’t Mark lose his powers and where do these Stones come from?” Tony asked.   
“I am still doing research on it. The Stones come from the cosmic being, a being so powerful he needed to split his powers and place them into stones. There are six gems I believe, we have three here on Earth,” Strange said.   
“Seems like a lot for Earth to have,” Tony said.   
“Indeed, it could place us in danger, but right now I guard the time stone and,” Strange stopped to look at Mark. “You are the reality stone. The stone’s power is infinite, so you will never lose your powers. If I were to guess, when you heal, your body takes too much damage from the power of the stone. To protect your body, the stone hibernates for a period of time, least until your body can handle the power.”  
“Shit,” Tony said looking at Mark. “So now what?”  
“What do you mean?” Mark asked.   
Tony felt weird being questioned about his question. He gestured to the whole destroyed town. “What do you mean what do I mean? You have an Infinity Stone in you, we need to figure it out. You never lost your powers, if the United Nations finds out…”  
“We won’t tell them,” Mark said looking at Strange who nodded.   
“And the team?” Tony asked.   
“We need to keep everyone in the dark for now. I’m not entirely sure what three Infinity Stones being on Earth will mean for our future,” Strange said.   
“We have more immediate things to address anyway,” Mark said.   
“I forget about our current troubles when future ones can be much larger in scale,” Tony said. “But let’s get back to our time, I enjoy the past but miss my body, and astral form is weird.”  
Tony began to walk with Strange then noticed Mark wasn’t following. Mark was staring back at the town and what remained form the attack. Tony walked back to where Mark stood.   
“I don’t even know that much about them. What I saw was just a glimpse,” Mark said.   
Tony looked back to Strange. Strange let out a sigh, “Byrne.”  
“What?” Mark asked.   
“Their names were Johnathan and Elizabeth Byrne,” Strange clarified. “I was able to find some information on them.   
“Irish,” Tony said looked at Mark. “Like Steve.”  
Mark nodded as he took in the information. “Byrne…” Mark repeated the name then turned back to the town. “I wish they could have met Steve.”


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32  
Andrea  
Andrea stumbled as she was fixing her skirt while walking. “This is stupid. Why do I even need to dress like this?”  
“Because it is a press conference. You could have worn one of your dresses for it,” Andrea turned to see Steve standing there.   
“Yeah well, Tony suggested it and pretty much forced it on Natasha. I mean does this happen often? A press conference by S.H.I.E.L.D. about the Avengers?” Andrea asked.   
Steve took in a deep breath. “Usually after we save the world but not out of the blue. I’m just as curious as you are about what they will say. Could you get anything out of Tony?”  
Andrea shook her head. “He was very quiet about the whole thing. He said if I knew, we all would be furious about what S.H.I.E.L.D.”  
“By S.H.I.E.L.D. you mean Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?” Clint asked as he walked over to Natasha.   
“Exactly, could you guys find out anything?” Andrea asked.   
“No one at S.H.I.E.L.D. knows about the content of this press conference,” Natasha explained. “They were just as surprised as we were about it.”  
“Well, why are we the only ones who need to go to it?” Andrea asked.   
“What do you mean?” Steve said. “Sam is already there with Rhodey and Joseph. Tony is talking to the board members about what will go on. Who is missing?”  
Andrea turned to Steve and glared at him while she rested her hand on her hip.  
“Steve, the fact you asked makes this so bad,” Clint said interpreting what Andrea was trying to convey.   
Steve was still confused when he looked at all four of them.   
“Don’t worry Steve,” Steve heard from behind. Andrea looked to see Bucky walking up to him. “Mark didn’t tell them is all.”  
“What do you mean he didn’t tell us? You know where Mark is?” Andrea asked.   
“Is that what this is about?” Steve asked looking at everyone. Everyone gave a face to Steve to answer his question. “Mark was told not to come. The Board members of S.H.I.E.L.D. said it would be hard to explain why the world’s deadliest assassin is on the team. I thought he would have told you guys. Otherwise, we would be together at the press conference.”  
“Would you two be together?” Clint asked. Natasha turned to smack Clint but stopped and lowered her hand.   
“I’m curious too…would you?” Natasha asked.   
“Wow first time I got no smack, I am learning,” Clint said with a smile. Natasha nudged him, but Andrea looked to Steve to hear his answer.   
“I don’t know now…I would think so but…”  
Andrea watched as Bucky patted Steve on the back. “It’s alright. You still got time to work it out, and you have that session coming up.”  
“Session?” Andrea asked. “Wait,” Andrea turned to Natasha “he is going?”  
Natasha nodded with a smile. Andrea began to feel proud of Steve as well that he agreed to go to a therapy session.   
Steve looked down slightly embarrassed by everyone’s reaction. “Well I figured it would help, and Mark was right, it would be someone for me to talk about everything inside, without fear.”  
Andrea heard the microphone being testing at the press conference. “Well as nice as this all is, we need to head to the stage. I don’t even have time to be angry with those assholes for not allowing Mark to be here. He has put in more work than any of us training those kids. Let’s get this over with.” Andrea lead the way as the others followed. The other adult members were all present and took their place near the podium. Andrea saw the Young Avengers in uniform all to the side. Andrea watched Thaddeus approach the podium and began to feel her blood boil in anticipation of what that man was going to say.   
“Greetings everyone. I am one of the head board members of S.H.I.E.L.D. I thank you all for coming today to hear about some new items which will impact the Avengers moving forward. First I would like to finally confirm, yes the Young Avengers Initiative has begun and shown great promise.”  
“Great promise?” Andrea said to Natasha in a low voice. “He has been against it since the beginning from what I have seen.”  
“He is playing the political game right now,” Natasha said. “If he showed how he truly felt, then it would mean votes against him. He is remaining neutral from what I am gathering.”  
“In other words, he is lying,” Andrea heard as she turned to Bucky.  
“Well I gathered that much,” Andrea said.   
“I would like you all to turn to the large screens. In a moment we will have all the Avengers test out their skills in the training room,” Thaddeus said gesturing to the large television screens.   
“Who has been training the Young Avengers,” A reporter shouted.  
“All training is being headed by the Avengers. Specifically, Captain America has been training the Young Avengers,” Thaddeus answered.   
“What?” Andrea said quickly and felt it was a little loud. Luckily no one outside of the stage heard her. She looked to Natasha who was just as surprised as she was. Then Andrea turned to Steve. She could see Anger begin to grow on his face.   
“Calm down,” Andrea heard Bucky say to Steve. “What did you expect them to say? It is a press conference, hearing the world’s deadliest assassin is training the future heard of the world doesn’t sound too inviting.”  
Andrea saw the angry leave Steve’s expression, but she understood how he felt. Still, Thaddeus was not acknowledging Mark in any of this and would keep him out of the press at all cost.   
“What of the avenger who killed Red Skull?” A reporter shouted. Andrea turned to see which reporter said it. It was an odd question to ask but clearly was bringing Mark to light. “Or the one who saved the little boy in the mall? We all saw the security camera feed.”  
“The Avengers took down Red Skull, and that boy was saved by a civilian now if you all would…”  
“According to reports it was an Avenger, and he doesn’t look to be on stage now,” Another reporter said cutting off Thaddeus. Andrea was looking around trying to see what was going on. Was this all not planned out? She figured Mark had to have a hand it in, but all she could see is Thaddeus becoming angered by the interruptions.   
“Looks like your friend has gained popularity with the public,” Bucky said to Andrea with a smile.   
“Was this his plan?” Andrea asked Bucky.   
“Not intentionally, but when I asked him if he was nervous, he told me no. I guess now we both see why” Bucky said. Andrea caught Steve listening to them and saw him smile. She couldn’t help but join Steve in smiling. Andrea turned back to Thaddeus gaining control of the crowd.   
“If you all could I would like to focus on the matter at hand. We have a few items to announce. First, if you could all again turn to the television screens to see the Young Avengers display their skills,” Thaddeus was finally able to get out his words, and the video feed began.   
“Andrea was stunned by the cheesy video feed. It wasn’t live. It was all shots from when the kids were training, then edited to look better. She could hardly keep her disgust under control. Now she sees why Mark avoided this whole mess. The way they made it seem like the kids were Saturday morning cartoon stars then actual superheroes would have him vomit on stage. Thaddeus began to applause as the video ended. Andrea joined in with an unenthused clap herself.   
“That was maybe the worst thing I have ever seen,” Clint said during the applause.   
“I agree, it showed nothing of what they can actually do. It’s pathetic,” Natasha said.   
“They were in charge of it,” Bucky said tilting his head to Thaddeus and Gabriel. “Otherwise I would have thought Tony and Andrea would do it.”  
“I am not good at video editing,” Andrea said to Bucky.   
“Steve could have done a better job than them, and he still struggles with his cell phone,” Bucky said.   
“Hey,” Steve said as the applause died down. Andrea couldn’t help but laugh at Bucky’s words.   
“We will take any questions now regarding the Young Avengers,” Thaddeus said as the hands went up.   
“How many groups will there be?” One reporter asked.   
“We have three right now. One based here in New York, another will be based in California, and we are working with our friends in the United Kingdom to establish a team there.” Gabriel answered.   
“When will they be on their own?” Another reporter asked.   
“We are still training them,” Thaddeus said. “We are hoping to build their skills more so they are prepared for any emergency. It will be a few more years I would say.”  
“Years?” Andrea asked turning to Natasha.   
“Tony said less than a year, maybe a few months with the progress the kids have made,” Natasha said.   
“I thought the same when did this change?” Clint asked.   
Andrea was confused by the answers. She looked at Tony by the podium and could see his distress. IT looked like they all were now getting this information for the first time. Andrea was worried for Tony, he said he had a big announcement for everyone to hear.  
“We can take some more questions later, but we need to keep track of the time. We have Tony Stark here to explain the future of Stark Industries,” Thaddeus said as he clapped to bring up Tony.   
The crowd began to clap louder as Tony approached the podium. Andrea was sure it fed Tony’s ego to hear the crowd excited for him and not the ones heading the conference.   
“Hello everyone. I appreciate you all wanting to hear me and constantly interrupting others,” Andrea couldn’t help but laugh at what Tony said, and she heard a few laughs from the crowd. One thing Tony could do was work a room. Her anxiety began to ease as Tony spoke.   
“I will keep this brief. The United States Government has asked Stark Industries to help out with severance and weapons. I was against this at first since I would have little authority over where the weapons would go, and given the history between the United States government and my company, you can ss why. With that, I was offered a position I am proud to take to help guide the Avengers, both young and old…”  
“Who is he calling old?” Bucky asked.   
“Mark is over a hundred and forty, you and Steve are almost a hundred years old. I think old defines many of you guys. Not me though,” Andrea said with a smile.   
“Fair point,” Bucky said. Andrea gave Bucky a strange look. “What?” Bucky asked.   
“You have been hanging around Mark too much,” Andrea said with a smile.  
“Shut it,” Bucky said back to her.   
“My point,” Andrea said back to him. They quieted down as Tony continued.   
“Since I am taking more of a lead for the safety and security of the technology I am providing, the United States Government decided to offer me the position as Secretary of Defense…”  
“What?!” Andrea said shocked. Everyone looked at her after her outburst. She prayed Tony would just continue to deter the attention from her. It was like he was reading her mind.   
“I have agreed to accept the position of Secretary of Defense. I will work alongside S.H.I.E.L.D. not only as an Avenger but as the head of Defense. With that, you all can ask you multitude of annoying questions now.”  
Tony tried to annoy the audience to not ask questions, but everyone quickly stood up and shouted their questions at Tony. Thaddeus stepped forward to calm the crowd.   
“We can’t hear everyone at once so let’s have this work as orderly as possible, thank you,” Thaddeus said as everyone quieted down to wait to be called on.   
“What will you do to protect the people?” Someone shouted from the audience. Andrea looked to see who was the person who shouted. It sounded like a woman. The crowd opened up, and Andrea could see a woman standing there holding a worn teddy bear.   
“What will you do differently that you couldn’t protect my family from the attack on the hospital. You should have protected them. You failed my family, what makes you think we should allow you to protect everyone?” the woman asked.   
The room went silent. Andrea could hear the sweat drip from the people from the press waiting to hear how Tony would answer this question. It was what was going on all over the news. Their failures. People were upset they couldn’t save everyone. Andrea turned to look at Tony who was thinking of an answer and slowly running out of time to respond.   
“That wasn’t Iron Man’s fault,” Andrea heard from the crowd. Andrea got scared, she knew this voice. People turned to see a brown-haired man standing in the back of the room dressed in a blazer, jeans, and his signature converse shoes.   
“Iron Man wasn't on that mission. Otherwise, we could have saved your family,” Mark said as he walked toward the woman. The woman locked eyes with Mark.   
“And how would you know?” The woman asked.   
Mark gestured toward the teddy bear the woman held. “I saw that bear in the hospital room after the bomb went off. The image is burned into my memory. I wondered if that little girl had any surviving family. I tried to get there, but I couldn’t make it in time.”  
“Who is he?” Andrea heard someone ask in the crowd.   
“He is that guy on the news who saved that kid in the mall. I thought he died taking a blast like that,” Someone else said. Oh if they only knew the countless times, Mark should be dead from something that happened.   
The woman held the teddy bear tighter as she looked at Mark. “She was my niece. She was set to discharge that day. She only went in to get her tonsils out. That shouldn’t have happened. You shouldn’t have allowed it to happen!” The woman shouted at Mark.   
Andrea was tense. Everyone was watching. The press was here. She turned to look at Thaddeus and Gabriel, and they both held a smug look on their face. They were enjoying it Mark took the brunt of this. Andrea waited for Mark to reply, he was looking down at the teddy bear before he looked back to the woman.   
“You’re right. I failed that day. But…” Mark stepped forward to the woman. “You shouldn’t be the one to carry that sin.”  
The woman looked at Mark and Andrea could see water begin to fill her eyes. “It was my sister and her family. My little niece. I should have…”  
“If you were there, you would have been gone too. You weren’t tasked to stop the assault, I was,” Mark said as he put his hand on the woman’s hand. She looked at Mark surprised he was so honest with her. “Let me carry that sin.” Mark turned to the crowd as he spoke, “That is one of the tasks of the Avengers as well and something Tony Stark is trying to decrease. We won’t always succeed, but…” Mark turned back to the woman. “That is something we carry on our shoulders, not you.”   
The woman lowered her head to hide her tears. The crowd soon began to ask Mark questions. “Who are you” “Are you really an Avenger?” “How did you survive the attack on the mall?” “What role do you play?” Andrea could see Mark getting overloaded with the questions and wondered if anyone would stop it. She turned to see Steve nervous and ready to jump into the crowd to pull Mark out.   
“Stop!” Andrea heard Mark shout with such anger she jumped when she looked forward. She could see Steve do the same.   
“It’s been a while since I heard that tone,” Natasha said to Andrea.   
Andrea turned to Natasha still shell-shocked. Natasha seemed unfazed by the event. Andrea looked back at Mark who stared into the crowd with anger burning in his eyes.   
“This has nothing to do with me. For you to ask me questions and not see the real issues at hand disgust me. This is about people like her,” Mark said gesturing to the woman. “For mother, fathers, sons, daughters, and aunts…all who lost someone. Tony Stark is taking this position because we haven’t had someone who knows the ins and outs of a mission at the helm. Someone who knows what it is like to fight enemies with little hope of success and most importantly,” Mark looked at the woman again, “someone who knows what it means to lose in battle. Not lose from a defeat from an enemy but to fail to save a life.”  
The room grew silent again when the weight of Mark’s words rang through. Mark put his hand on the women again. And said someone to her which Andrea couldn’t hear. But the woman cried and hugged Mark. Mark hugged the woman, and of course, the camera flashed when they had a chance of a photo opportunity present itself. The only thing Andrea could make out was the woman saying “thank you.”  
Mark pulled back from the woman, “Tony may have allowed everyone to ask annoying questions, but out of respect for everyone who lost people from these battles, I think we are done for today. You got your headline, Tony Stark is the new Secretary of Defense. Print your papers and next time hold more respect for those we have lost.” Mark slowly pulled his hand from the woman and slowly made his way to the front of the room and left through the doors.   
“Well…That is one way to end a meeting,” Tony said to break the silence. “Like our Avenger friend said, meeting is adjourned or whatever.” Andrea couldn’t help but realize Tony ended the meeting like Mark does every debriefing. She felt a smile grow on her face. The people slowly began to crowd around Thaddeus and Gabriel who seemed happy to answer more questions, but Tony quickly went off stage in a hurry. Andrea looked around and saw everyone slowly walking away, and she decided to follow Tony. Andrea exited the side of the stage and went through the side door. She could see Tony walking in a hurry, and she quickly ran to catch up to him.   
“Wait up,” Andrea heard behind her as she saw Steve running.   
“Try to hurry up, I don’t know where he is going, and I don’t want to lose him,” Andrea said.   
“You know where he is going,” Steve said as he ran beside Andrea.   
Andrea slowed her pace to a walk and sighed, “I know, just…what he said wasn’t wrong.”  
“No,” Steve said as he matched Andrea’s walking pace. “But I think Tony is going to yell at him for it.”  
Andrea and Steve turned to see Mark at the end of the hall leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.   
“That wasn’t part of the plan!” Tony shouted. “Are you insane? You know what they will do to you if you blatantly go against their direct orders to stay out of something?”  
Andrea and Steve walked up next to Mark and Tony. Tony turned to look at the two. “Great on his side or mine right now?”  
“Depends,” Andrea answered. “We just entered the argument. We don’t know the context yet.” Andrea could see a smile form on Mark face from her answer as he looked away.   
“Really? You think this is funny? You think what happened out there was okay?” Tony asked Mark.   
“What part of what I did was wrong out there, Tony?” Mark shouted back at Tony.   
“In my eyes, nothing. In the eyes of Thaddeus and Gabriel, everything. You being here is enough to set them off. I get why Fury always has a headache with you, now I get to learn what it’s like cleaning up your messes,” Tony let out in one quick yell. Tony turned to Andrea and Steve. “Do you two have anything to ask him about what he did?”  
“I do,” Steve said, and Andrea turned to Steve as he asked his question. “What did you say to the woman at the end. She thanked you. But I didn’t hear what you said.”  
Andrea looked at Mark. She was curious about what Mark said to her. Mark unfolded his arms and looked down as he answered.   
“I told her to not carry her sin anymore. It’s my burden now, not hers. She needs to let it go. I figured it was something she needed to hear from one of us,” Mark looked up as he finished his answer.   
There was a period of silence after Mark gave his answer. It was true, the woman needed to hear it and so many more needed to hear the same thing to move forward in their grief. Andrea watched as she saw Steve walk over to Mark. Mark looked up at Seve had Steve reached out his hand and ran it through Mark’s hair.   
“You know you are not going to carry that sin alone, right?” Steve said with a smile. Mark smiled as he looked down. She was pretty sure Mark was hiding a blush right now. It seemed Steve gained the skill to embarrass Mark.   
Steve turned to Tony. “How much damage control are you going to have to do for this?”   
Tony sighed, “It all depends.”  
“On what?” Andrea asked. Tony turned to Andrea. “On what the news releases tomorrow. You saw the crowd. I couldn’t really figure out how they will spin this. If it’s good, then it’s just Thaddeus and Gabriel which…” Tony looked at Mark, “you are going to have to face on your own.”  
“That’s fair,” Mark said as he took in a deep breath. Steve walked over and leaned against the wall near Mark.  
“This isn’t something I can help you with is it?” Steve asked.   
“If you could, you would find a way and do it without my permission, Steve,” Mark answered.   
“Hell we all would,” Andrea heard from behind her. She saw Bucky walking up with Clint and Natasha near him. Andrea could see the Young Avengers as well.   
“Well this is beginning to get annoying,” Andrea said.   
“Which part?” Natasha asked standing near Andrea. Andrea looked around at everyone and the expression they each held on their face.   
“Mark is the only one speaking how we all feel, and because of it,” Andrea looked at Mark, “You are the only one being punished for it.”  
“You’re right,” Nadia said. “It’s not fair.”  
“So the young ones are beginning to see the political side we all hate to deal with,” Bucky said crossing his arms.   
“Don’t scare them off Bucky,” Mark said as he looked up.   
“But you’re the only one who is saying what we all feel,” Greer said.   
“If these skills begin to follow your impulsive path…” Tony began.   
“They won’t,” Mark said. “Listen kiddos, we all have ways to manage the politics.”  
“Mark is just much more insane than the rest of us,” Clint said cutting Mark off.   
Mark just crossed his arms and looked to the side. “If you see it as insane let’s hope they do as well,” Mark said. And Andrea could see a smile form on Mark’s face. She was confused by this. She began to wonder was this impulsive or something Mark had planned? If he wanted to shout what he felt to everyone he would have done it on stage standing there with the rest of them. Mark had something more planned.   
“Come on,” Mark said pushing off the wall and Grabbing Steve by the arm to as he walked down the hall. “Think we all deserve a way to relax after that.”  
“What were you thinking?” Stave asked as he followed.   
“Steve, if you have to ask then you don’t know us too well,” Andrea said following them. “Pizza of course.” The crowd of teens followed when Andrea said this. Andrea turned to look at Tony still holding his head from the headache he experienced earlier. “You coming?” Andrea asked as everyone else walked in front of them. Tony looked up at Andrea then down at the crowd of people.   
“You saw it didn’t you?” Tony asked.   
Andrea turned her head in confusion. “Saw what?”   
“Mark smiling…he planned this. He planned it and didn’t tell me about it. Fucking asshole… “  
“I did see it. I thought it was imagination…” Andrea said looking down the hall, and she could see Mark walking with Steve and Bucky at his side. “How far do you think he has this planned?”  
Tony looked at Andrea. “I have no idea. Remind me to yell at him if it is planned and for not telling me.”  
“Can we do it after pizza though. Not during. All that yelling will make the cheese go cold,” Andrea said. Tony laughed, and she was happy to see him smile. Tony wrapped his arm around Andrea as they walked down the hall.   
“Congratulations by the way,” Andrea said.   
“After all this, I’m not sure I want to be Secretary of Defense,” Tony said.   
“You will feel differently after pizza,” Andrea said with a smile. Tony kissed her, and they walked to meet the others.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33  
Steve

Steve watched the news reports from the previous day. It seemed Tony didn’t need to deal with a headache since the reports all painted Mark in a positive light. Mark was referenced as the man who saved the little boy in the mall when the people did not know his name. Some reports would state Mark was an Avenger and others wouldn’t. The only consistent thing left out was Mark’s history of being the world’s deadliest assassin. The more recent events were the only important parts to the news reporters. Nothing even came up about Steve taking Mark to the Gala, which relieved Steve a little bit. He didn’t go against what Mark did at the press conference, but he still worried about any news that would come up to upset Thaddeus, Gabriel, or any other board member. Steve was just happy people were beginning to see Mark more how he saw him. As the gentle person who he was that kept Steve safe. Steve couldn’t help but smile while in the waiting room, which was nice since he felt his anxiety the entire time he was waiting.   
The waiting room was empty which would make sense. There were only a few people on staff as therapists for all of S.H.I.E.L.D. which was surprising given everything everyone working here goes through. But Steve understood why no one talks about this stuff to people. Steve grew up in a time period which this wasn't common and people just needed to deal with their given internal demons. But what happened on the day Steve had the flashback scared him, he felt like he was having a heart attack and tried to attack some of his friends and even Mark. Steve was still surprised he agreed to this, it might have been what Mark said that really convinced him. Mark was right, Steve would have someone to talk to about everything else going on, and Steve wouldn’t worry about being judged. It was tough enough talking to his friends when he worried their reaction to the whole situation, and Steve couldn’t talk to Mark about it much because of their plan to keep their distance from one another. Still, Steve didn’t know what to expect.   
Steve turned his gaze from the television to the many painted sceneries in the waiting room. Some were cliché in that they were pictures of the ocean during sunset. Others of flowers and other soothing things which might help calm people down. It wasn’t helping Steve though.   
Steve turned his head when he heard the door open. “Steven Rogers?” The woman asked.   
Steve stood up, “I’m here,” Not really sure how to greet the woman.  
The woman smiled at Steve. “Hi, I’m Jillian, I will be your therapist. Let’s head to my office, and we can get started,” Jillian said as she gestured for Steve to follow.   
“Alright,” Steve said following the woman. The hallway was covered in more paintings, and Steve found the same when he entered the office. He was surprised the couch was as comfortable as it was but still felt uneasy that a couch was in a therapist’s office. Steve watched as Jillian sat at her desk and grabbed a file.   
“So I got your history, It is a tad of a complex one. I know about the incident that occurred a few weeks ago when you had a flashback. But someone said you might want to come to this for other reasons. Why don’t you tell me what you want to come to therapy for?” Jillian asked.   
Steve turned his head in confusion. “Who was the person who said I would want this for other reasons?” Steve asked.   
Jillian looked through her notes. “Not sure. The man didn’t leave his name. I just have a note here that says he wanted to make sure you got what you wanted out of this and to let you lead the way not the recommendations from S.H.I.E.L.D.”  
Steve couldn’t help but smile. Of course, Mark would call to make sure Steve got what he wanted, and the higher-ups didn’t get what they wanted.   
“Seems like you have an idea of who called,” Jillian said with a smile.   
“Yeah, I know exactly who called. And he was right. I came here cause of other things going on. I had flashbacks and nightmares before, but right now it’s the worst it has ever been because of everything else going on,” Steve explained.   
Jillian turned in her chair to face Steve. “Well before we get into that, You understand what therapy is right?”  
Steve was thrown off a bit by the question. He decided to answer honestly. “In truth, no. I just know that what I say here won’t leave here.”  
“That’s true for the most part,” Jillian explained as she leaned back. “As long as you are safe and don’t threaten to hurt yourself or someone else, what is said here stays here. And as for the process, I am here to listen and challenge you. We will go through things, and I am kind of a second set of everything for your experience. We will go through everything and pick it apart so you can understand it better and approach the situation better. We will also work on ways for you to help manage these flashbacks and all the stress going on for you.”  
“There is a lot of it,” Steve responded.   
“Well there is no set limit to how long we will meet for. I assume you want to meet once a week. Which is pretty standard for people. Since this is a S.H.I.E.L.D. program we don’t need to worry about how long this will go on for, it will end when you feel it is ready to end. Any questions?” Jillian asked.   
“None yet, but I don’t really know where to begin or what you want me to say?” Steve said honestly.   
“Well,” Jullian said as she sat up. “What’s been bothering you the most over the last week or so. You are referred here because of the flashback, but you don’t seem like you are here for that.”  
Steve took in a deep breath. “That is a tough question to answer really. So much has been going on for so long. It all just builds on what has been in the past.”  
“Well have you been able to talk to anyone about any of it?” Jillian asked.   
“I had someone,” Steve said looking at Jillian. “But I’m not able to talk to him as much as I used to, or as much as I want to.”  
“Is that by your choice?”  
“It’s by both of our choices actually. Some people don’t approve of us being close,” Steve confessed.  
“Why don’t people approve of her?” Jilliana sked.   
And Steve began to feel the stress he did in the past once Jillian assumed it was a woman. “Mainly because most people think it should be a her but the person is a he.”  
“Oh,” Jillian said. “Sorry I guess I made the same mistake other’s made. So the stress comes from this assumption?”  
“Some of it does,” Steve said as he finally leaned back on the couch. He was feeling the tension leave him as he relaxed more. “I mean it was instilled in me that I needed to be with a woman. It was common to think that way where I grew up.”  
“Where did you grow up?”  
“Brooklyn in the 1920’s,” Steve said.   
Jillian turned to her notes and checked the history. “Long story but I was frozen and then unfrozen 70 years later,” Steve added before Jillian can find the notes.   
“I heard the rumors but… it’s true?” Jillian asked.   
“Yeah,” Steve leaned his head back.   
“Well, this changes my normal approach of times have changed. This seems like it would be more of a culture shock to you,” Jillian explained.   
“It was when I first was unfrozen. Over the years many of my friends have helped me through it all, and it has gotten better. I mean seeing my first ever Pride Parade in New York was crazy. I had no idea everything was so much more open now.”  
“Was it tough being here alone though?” Jillian asked.   
“For a time, but then we found my old friend Bucky. He was frozen as part of a Russian project. We were able to break him out, and he joined us…”  
“This is really hard to follow with the freezing and unfreezing,” Jillian added.   
Steve couldn’t help but laugh. He lifted his head and found himself wearing a smile. “I know, but this is the life of an Avenger I suppose. We have all these things happen all the time.”  
“Well, will you be able to focus I guess on what would be the non-Avenger stuff?” Jillian asked.   
“Kind of why I am here I guess. Avenger missions are tough, but never affect me as much as the people involved in them. When I see the people I care about hurt or pushed away from me,” Steve said looking down.   
“Alright. Sounds like some things I know about then. Avenger stuff not good with but the interpersonal stuff I am good with. So Bucky was back, and you had your friend back.”  
“And then we dated,” Steve said. Steve paused when he realized he told a complete stranger that he and bucky once dated. He waited to see her reaction, but Jillian didn’t react. After a moment she sat up surprised.   
“Sorry were you expecting me to say something to that? I was waiting for you to continue,” Jillian said.   
Steve thought for a moment. “I guess I didn’t know what to expect really. In my time, people made it seemed horrible a man would be with another man. No one spoke about it. I just wait for someone to say something horrible about it or about me.”  
“So the fear still lives on in you?”   
Steve nodded his head answering Jillian’s question.   
“But you were with Bucky. And that was okay right?”  
“Not exactly,” Steve said. Steve never really sat down and understood how he felt about his relationship with Bucky. “We weren’t public about it.”  
“But you had someone,” Jillian said.   
Steve sighed, “I did.” Steve adjusted his sitting position on the couch since he knew he was going to be asked about what was wrong.”  
“You don’t sound too happy about it,” Jillian said. “I mean was it Bucky who called in about the note?”   
Steve laughed. “No. Bucky and I broke up years ago. Almost two years now. Our relationship was horrible, to say the least.”  
“But he was your best friend? How bad was he?”  
“He was under mind control still,” Steve said. “Hydra’s plan to break Captain America. They wanted to break the man.”  
“And did they?”   
Steve nodded. “I was never really myself. Everyone noticed and it took a while, but I began to see our mission success rate go down. We had more injuries. But I stayed with Bucky because you stayed with the person. He was my first boyfriend. I didn’t really know how things were supposed to be.”  
“Was anything good?”  
Steve thought for a long while before he shook his head. “He was verbally abusive toward me. Everyone heard it, but I kept it to myself.”  
“Did anything else happen?” Jillian asked.   
Steve was caught off guard by the question. He didn’t know if he should say everything that happened. No one knew about it. And some parts Steve kept buried deep in him so no one would know. He never even told Mark about it.   
“What I say here stays in here?” Steve asked.   
“Unless you are going to hurt yourself or someone else. But I don’t think you will so yeah, it will stay here,” Jillian said.   
Steve took in a deep breath. “No one knows, honestly. I kept it to myself. I’m not sure if Bucky even remembers what he did when he was brainwashed. He is working to repair our friendship, but I never could tell him everything.”  
“Steve,” Jillian said, and Steve looked up at her. “What happened?”  
Steve looked down as soon as Jillian asked the question. “He was known to get physical as well. There have been a few arguments where he would belittle me, and when I tried to stand up to him, he would punch me. It went on for a while. Once he was stopped only because two people were there. He did grab and push me, he might have punched me then, but honestly, he was probably worried what those two people would do to him if they saw it happen.”  
“Steve, I’m sorry,” Jillian said.   
“There…is more,” Steve added. “It’s tough to say.”  
“Take your time,” Jillian said as she leaned in.   
“Before Bucky, I was never with anyone… intimately that is. I was nervous about my first time. And when it happened, it wasn’t what I expected. He belittled me during it and just did what he wanted during the act. I almost feel like he forced himself on me. But…”  
“Did he?” Jillian asked.   
Steve paused for a moment and thought of it. “I… yeah he did,” Steve confessed.   
There was silence in the room after Steve confessed this. He never told anyone. He sugarcoated the situation when he told Mark by telling Mark that Steve got no pleasure out of it and Bucky did what he wanted. But that was the thing…Bucky did what he wanted.   
“I kind of buried it all and took it. People know about the verbal abuse but not about the rest. The plan worked…they broke me,” Steve said.   
“So no one really stood up for you?”  
Steve ran through his memories of all the fights he had with Bucky. In truth, he didn’t know if anyone stood up for him when Steve wasn’t there. There was just one day someone did in front of everyone.  
“One person did,” Steve answered.   
“How did that go?”  
“He ended up slamming Bucky into a wall during a training exercise,” Steve answered. Jillian just stared blankly at Steve when he answered. Steve laughed at her reaction. “Sorry, this person can get very emotional when it comes to me… he always has been.”  
“So he caused bodily harm to your ex?”  
“It was a training exercise and to be honest, he was paired with Bucky after he stood up to Bucky for me,” Steve clarified.   
“I’m still not sure how to take that,” Jillian answered.   
“Well, Bucky only walked away with a limp. And really it was what he said before that stuck with me, not the action. But everyone was happy to see him hurt Bucky.”  
“What did he say?”  
Steve paused for a moment and looked at his hand. He noticed the imprint of where the ring he wore used to be and how over time the line of where it rested on his finger was fading back to his normal skin tone. “He said someone needed to protect me, and so he stepped up,” Steve said with a smile. “He has since he said that.”  
“You seem fond of this person,” Jillian said. “You’ve smiled everytime you mentioned him. Who is he?”  
Steve wasn’t sure if he should say who it was. Mark and Steve agreed to keep things quiet, but Mark did push him to come to therapy to talk about this. “His name is Mark.”  
“You realize your whole mood shifted when you began talking about him,” Jillian said.   
“That doesn’t surprise me. He does that for me,” Steve said smiling. “Don’t get me wrong, he does some crazy things on missions and drives me insane when he risks his life…”  
“Steve,” Jillian said cutting Steve off. “Avenger stuff I don’t know too much about. Why not stick to the other things. You said you can handle the Avenger stuff.”  
“Right,” Steve said realizing he almost went on a tangent about the crazy things Mark has done over the years.   
“So is he as insane with you as he is on missions?” Jillian asked.   
“Yes,” Steve said. “But in a good way. I don’t know, he is just impulsive and does things. I never really know what to expect from him.”  
“What impulsive things has he done? And try to avoid the Avenger stuff,” Jillian said.   
Steve laughed. He tried to think of the first thing Mark did for Steve. “There is a lot to list actually. Once he got me an art kit. A whole new set of colored charcoal and a sketch pad.”  
“And it wasn’t for a birthday or anything?” Jillian asked.   
“No,” Steve said with a smile. “It was just because I made him happy. He wrote a note. I still have it. He hates I have it because he said he wrote the most cheesy thing in it.”  
“What did he wrote?”   
“You brighten my world,” Steve said. “It was in reference to me brightening up my sketches with the colors now.”  
Jillian laughed at what Steve said. “Sorry, but that is really cheesy.”  
Steve joined in the laughter. “I know…but…” Steve turned to look out the window as he thought of the note. “I felt like I did.”  
“How?” Jillian asked.   
Steve turned to her. “What do you mean how?”  
“How did you feel you brightened his world? I mean you told me some really horrible things. I am guessing there is more. You have been afraid for so long about saying you were with a man. You were with someone and went through horrible abuse. How did you feel you brightened his world? I mean you had to expect you needed to do something to make him happy given the abuse you experienced,” Jillian explained.   
Steve thought for a long while. “You know, I asked myself that so many times. I still don’t know what the answer is. When I asked Mark, he said I was just myself. But…” Steve trailed off for a moment as he leaned forward. He was thinking fo the question again. He would always circle back to it over the years. “I don’t know how.”  
“So you don’t know how you are good enough for this,” Jillian said.   
Steve was about to speak but then stopped himself. He heard the words in his head again. He didn’t know how he was good enough for this. “I don’t.” Steve leaned back. “I guess I never thought I was. Why would I be? I mean I was made to feel that way for so long,” Steve said turning to Jillian.   
“But something happened,” Jillian said.   
Steve turned his head in confusion.   
“Your flashbacks. You said they get worse with more stress. And the nightmares. How long have you had them?” Jillian asked.   
“Since I unfroze from the ice,” Steve confessed. “So many years. I don’t sleep much because of it.”  
“And nothing has changed in them? I mean the content or how often they happen?” Jillian asked. “From the history I read, it’s been such a long time since you had a flashback.”  
“They change. It depends on what I experienced, but you said to keep the Avenger stuff out of it,” Steve said.  
“Well, that makes sense for the content. What about the frequency?” Jillian asked.   
Steve was hesitant to answer. “They go down when Mark is near me,” Steve confessed.   
“So when you spend the day with him?”  
“No,” Steve said. “When he is sleeping next to me. It’s been a while since he has been sleeping next to me.”  
“Did you two break up?” Jillian asked. Steve froze for a moment.   
“We needed to put it on pause, based on who was around. It kills me though. I hate seeing him around and not being able to be near him. I hate not wanting to touch his hand when I want or to kiss him,” Steve continued talking as his anger grew. “I hate it people are keeping us apart because I am too afraid to tell them what he means to me. Everyone says it. We look at each other in a certain way. They always said it. It took me so long to find him, and I don’t even have the courage to say what he is to me. And somehow, even though I am a complete idiot about it…” Steve paused for a moment before he continued. “He stayed by my side.”  
Jillian sat there stunned by Steve’s reaction. “So this is what is causing everything? Your fear? Or an unwillingness to accept to yourself you deserve it? Cause that will let you say it to others?”   
Steve was about to speak but then stopped. “I don’t know. I just hate it. I thought I could go through with it but I can’t. I don’t tell him I have horrible nightmares every night because I know him. He will say screw it and go against the plan to make sure I am okay at night. Sorry for my language,” Steve said at the end.   
“The plan?” Jillian asked.   
Steve sighed. “Mark knows about my fear. He agreed to help me keep it all under wraps for my safety and wellbeing. Like I said, he stayed by my side. All because I couldn’t tell the people who are above us in S.H.I.E.L.D.”  
“Well let me ask you this, how would you describe your relationship with Mark to me?” Jillian asked.   
Steve didn’t even need to take a moment to think of his answer. “He is the best person I have ever met. He makes me smile all the time, and I never feel worried being with him. I don’t need to worry about saying or doing the wrong thing. He sometimes even has me acting like I am a kid, one time chasing me to put a disgusting piece of chocolate in my mouth. He always used to make me blush for fun, and recently I found ways to make him blush or see his jealous side come out. I never knew how much fun he had doing that to me until I saw it in him. I get why he likes it, it makes me feel like he cares even more about me when it happens. I was scared out of my mind when I was thinking to propose to him because I didn’t know what I would do if he said no. And when he asked me…I tackled him down to the ground in a hug before he could even finish the question.”  
“You have a lot to define your relationship with Mark,” Jillian said.   
“I do. I now know what it means to have someone I care about so much and has me feel cared for just as much,” Steve said looking up.   
Jillian looked around the room when Steve finished. He wasn’t sure what she was doing. He was confused by her behavior.   
“Sorry, I was just checking to see if the world was coming to an end,” Jillian said.   
“Why would it do that?” Steve asked.   
“Cause that’s how you feel if you said all that to the people you’re afraid of knowing about the relationship,” Jillian said.   
Steve then began to realize how crazy his fears actually were with that gesture. “It’s different telling you.”  
“How is it different?” Jillian asked.   
Steve wasn’t really sure how to answer. Well, he had a strong answer of Jillian couldn’t threaten Mark with something that would scare him. But he was asked to leave out the Avenger stuff.   
“It’s complicated.”  
“Well do you feel better getting all that out?” Jillian asked.   
Steve thought for a moment. “I do. It was actually nice to see what I thought I had answered but I still didn’t. And I will say it was nice to talk to someone who wasn’t judging me. We have too many friends who care about Mark and me, and it is tough to talk to them when I know they worry for Mark just as much.”  
“So therapy isn’t so scary?”  
Steve laughed as he sat up. “No, it isn’t. It also wasn’t what I expected.”  
“A good thing?” Jillian asked  
“Yeah, a good thing.”  
“Well,” Jillian said looking at the clock. “You got a lot out, but we should focus on this stuff next week. Maybe when you are ready really talk about the trauma and maybe get into what happened between you and Bucky. You want to come back next week?” Jillian asked.   
Steve thought for a long moment. He was surprised the time went by so quickly in the session. He did feel better with this, and it was nice to have someone to talk to since Mark wasn’t able as much as he could before. “Yeah, I will be back next week. Same time?”   
“I will put you in at the same time every week if you want,” Jillian said as she stood up.   
“That will work, as long as no one threatens the world,” Steve said in jest.   
“Again no Avenger stuff,” Jillian said. “I don’t know how to address that in therapy.” And Jillian walked toward the door.   
“That’s fine,” Steve said as he got up and followed her. “I think we have enough.”  
Steve followed Jillian to the lobby and walked through the door. “Hey,” Steve heard as he turned surprised to see Mark there. “How did it go?”  
Steve couldn’t help but smile when he saw Mark. “It went well,” Steve said turning to Jillian.   
Jillian pointed to Mark and asked, “Mark?” And Steve nodded.   
Mark stood up, “Great already talking about me in session.Wonder what I need to defend?”  
“You won’t know, this is for me,” Steve said.   
“So you will be back?” Mark asked. Steve nodded and then he felt a hug. He wrapped his arms around Mark when he felt the hug.   
“I’m proud of you for trying and more proud you want to stay with it,” Steve heard Mark whisper. Steve felt when he described early flood his mind. He kissed Mark on the forehead impulsively and then realized it was alright since the only other person there was Jillian.   
Steve let go of Mark and turned to Jillian. “See you next week,” Steve said as Jillian waved and closed the door behind her.   
“Come on,” Steve said as he grabbed Mark’s hand and walked, but then he felt a pull when Mark was standing there. Mark was staring at the door to the hallway.   
“Something wrong?” Steve asked.   
Mark turned to Steve, and Mark looked both confused and surprised. “Did she…” Mark began then Steve saw Mark shake his then began walking again. “Nevermind.”  
“You looked like you saw a ghost,” Steve said.   
“For a second I thought I did,” Mark said as he opened the door to the office. “So where are we going?”   
“That was a lot and I an starving. Want to get some sushi?” Steve asked as he walked a few steps and saw Mark still holding the door only this time with a stunned expression on his face.   
“What?” Steve asked.   
“Okay, what happened in there? You never suggest sushi. I am the one who always does, and you still try to convince me to go somewhere else,” Mark said.   
“What? I want to stick to things I know I like. You got me to try it, and I liked it. Plus it’s with you so two things I enjoy. Not liking the newer me?” Steve asked.   
Mark walked to Steve. “It’s not the newer you, it is Steve Rogers coming out without worries again. I always enjoy that,” Mark said. Steve felt his face grow hot when Mark complimented him. “And I will never get tired of that,” Mark said as he walked to the elevator.   
“Hey now, I have been known to make you blush too,” Steve said back to Mark.   
“I don’t recall those times,” Mark said hitting the button for the elevator.   
“Really? One happened a few days ago. You forgot?” Steve said crossing his arms.   
“Maybe I had a fever, so much has happened in the past few days. You know I am on the news? Well, least the stories who got my name right. So like I said I don’t remember,” Mark said wearing a smug look. Steve stood there without reacting then finally poked Mark in the side.   
“Hey, not fair,” Mark said when Steve poked him a few more times before Mark finally confess. “Fine, you found out how to make me blush too. I admit it.”  
Steve laughed as the elevator doors opened and they walked in. Steve hit the button for the ground floor when he turned around.   
“I missed this,” Steve heard as he turned to Mark. Mark wore a huge smile on his face when Steve saw him. Steve couldn’t help but smile back.   
“Yeah me too,” Steve said as he watched the doors shut to the elevator.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34   
Andrea  
Andrea was quickly typing on the computer. She was pissed she needed to be the one to prepare everything for such a big event. Ever since Tony took the Secretary of Defense position, Andrea was the tech person for the entire team. She hated it.   
Andrea rubbed the bridge of her nose as she looked away from the screen. It was probably the first time in two hours she looked away from the screen. She turned her head and saw Spiderman standing there in uniform, looking nervous.   
“How long have you been there?” Andrea asked. Spiderman jumped with how sharp Andrea’s tone was. Spiderman looked down at his wrist.   
“Well, I was hoping if you had time…”  
“He wanted you to look at his web slingers before the test,” Andrea heard as she turned to see Mark walking over. “And to answer your question, not sure. Everyone else is prepped and ready for it. Peter is the last one, and he wanted you to quickly run a diagnostic to make sure his tech was ready.”  
Andrea leaned on the desk staring at Mark with an annoyed expression. “Am I the only one who can fix anything around here?”   
“Not fix, just make sure it’s working right. I did some upgrades, and Mr. Stark didn’t have time to look over it…” Peter was able to get out.   
“I told him to ask you since Tony didn’t have time,” Mark confessed.   
“Well good thing you had me look over it,” Andrea said gesturing for Spiderman to walk over. “With how busy Tony has been, he might have missed a few things. The accident rate has gone up in the lab, even though he is spending less time in it.” Andrea blinked her eyes, and they glowed green as she looked at the web-slinger. Andrea moved her hands in the air, which looked crazy to everyone else but she was working on the interface of her system. Andrea let go of Peter’s wrist. “Other one,” She commanded, and Peter complied. It was a few more seconds before Andrea blinked her eyes to return to normal.   
“Looks like the upgrades you did were great. It improved the output of the web slinger without exhausting more resources. You did this all on your own?” Andrea asked stunned.   
Spiderman just nodded.   
“Sometime tells me, Tony, isn’t mentoring him too much and he is doing ti all on his own,” Andrea said to Mark.   
“Tony has been busy,” Mark said with a smile. “That’s why I took over combat training Peter. He has been doing better. So you check out, go get ready with the rest of them. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents will tell you where to go. Remember to wait for Andrea’s signal before you begin, or else you will lose points. Remind everyone else too.”   
Peter nodded as he ran over to where S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were waiting for him along with Wasp and She-Hulk.   
“You don’t seem nervous about this,” Andrea asked Mark as they watched the kids go with the agents.   
“You seem like you are ready to have a nervous break down from how much you have been working,” Mark said back to Andrea.   
“Don’t get me started,” Andrea said turning back to her computer. “I ran multiple tests on everything over the last few days. It should be set. I found no bugs at all. Least I found none with the last eight checks. Why did Tony have to take the damn job? He left me with everything.”  
“He took it because it was a huge opportunity. I mean he is Secretary of Defense. What more can you ask of him?” Mark asked.   
“I would like my husband back. But fine I get it. The Board Members are assholes, and we need to find a way to go above them in power,” Andrea said as she typed on her computer to run the last tests.   
“So is it all set? I mean the simulation test? The kids are nervous,” Mark said.   
“Why the hell are they so nervous? I mean I have never had Parker so scared of me before. He must have been there for about an hour before I noticed him,” Andrea asked as she typed.   
“In his defense, all the kids have been nervous of you. All this stress has had you snap at them a few…hundred times. And why wouldn’t they be nervous about this? It will determine if they will be Avengers. They worked so hard, and they want to do well,” Mark said stepping next to Andrea.   
“They don’t want to let you down,” Andrea said looking at Mark. She could see a smile grow on Mark’s face.   
“How would they let me down?” Mark asked.   
“Please, they have been training with you for months. You stepped in to train more of them one-on-one. I mean your reputation is on the line too,” Andrea said.   
“My reputation as the world’s deadliest assassin is not on the line,” Mark said.   
“I thought I told you not to use that title anymore,” Andrea heard as both she and Mark turned to see Steve and Bucky walking over.   
“As far as I know I am still better,” Bucky said.   
“You have still yet to take me down in combat,’ Mark said with a smile.  
“Came close a few times,” Bucky said back crossing his arms.   
Andrea could see Steve a little stunned Mark and Bucky were joking about Bucky almost killing Mark.   
“Close is not good enough. The kids will learn that today,” Mark said turning back to the computer.   
“So what do you have planned for them?” Steve asked as he walked over.   
“It’s a simple mission. Rescue a team member who is held captive. But as with any mission, it will have layers. Infiltration, which will test their ability to disable the security and their stealth. We have a ton of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to work as guards as well as some of the Avengers on board being the skilled fighters. They have to get through them too,” Andrea explained.   
“Isn’t that a bit unfair? I mean who is in there?” Steve asked.   
“Natasha, Clint, Sam, Rhodey, and Joey are all in there,” Mark explained.   
“They aren’t going to pass if you have all of them in there,” Steve said looking at Mark.   
“Well that’s why Andrea developed a point system,” Mark said.   
Steve looked at Andrea curiously. Andrea pulled up her paper. “Right so the whole team will get points for people who get out safely and with their target secure. Individually, each member can earn points by taking out the S.H.I.E.L.D. guards. The points for the skilled fighters are different. They get points for using their stealth to go past them. They can get points for fighting them then evading the fight and getting to safety. The most points are if you disable the fighters. This way we can see who is doing well.”  
“How much are the points if they disable them?” Bucky asked.   
“Basically they pass if they can,” Mark said.   
Andrea nodded. “But the risk is high. I mean would you want to take on a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Natasha. It yields great rewards, but it would mean you could fail. It’s to test their ability to weight risks too. I mean you want to pass so much you risk failing, and if you fail, it would be like dying out on a mission.”  
“What happens if they fail?” Steve asked.   
“We got the board members to agree to more training before another test would happen. So they won’t be off the team for good. But they won’t fail,” Mark said looking at the monitors.   
“So this is the central hub to the whole thing?” Bucky asked.   
“Sort of,” Andrea explained. “I am the only one who will be in here. Tony has the board members watching at Stark Industries. He is hosting them there. He figured it would be better for the kids if the assholes weren’t here to freak them out.”  
“Obviously I agreed to the plan,” Mark said with a smile. “So what do you go down there in terms of traps and such?”  
Andrea pulled up some schematics on the screen. “Basic torrents for the kids. They can handle those. I put some heavy security locks on some of the doors. It is basically going to be a multi-layered maze to them. They have some agents hiding in wait. The skilled fights will be seeking out the kids. We have them all spread out to keep seeking the kids until they find them. And they all have communication devices to keep in touch with one another. Another layer of difficulty for the kids. I didn’t want to make it impossible for them.”  
“This is so cool,” Mark said looking at the screen. “Probably your best work.”  
“What the fuck do you mean probably?” Andrea said louder then she meant to.   
“Don’t be mean to Andrea, she worked hard on all of this,” Steve said as he put his hand on Mark’s shoulder then Steve paused. “Wait why aren’t you down there to be one of the fighters to stop them?” Steve asked.   
“We needed a team member who was captured, Steve,” Andrea said as she brought in the center room with a cell in it. “Mark will be waiting here for the team to rescue him.  
Steve had a worried look on his face when he turned to Mark.   
“They said someone was picked at random,” Mark explained to Steve knowing what he was going to ask. “We all know it wasn’t random. They probably want to get a kick out of seeing me behind bars or something.”  
“Will he be safe?” Steve finally asked.   
“What do you mean will I be safe?” Mark asked crossing his arms.   
“We know they will do anything to hurt you,” Steve said.   
“Fair point,” Mark said.   
“Also they added something you won’t like,” Andrea said as she walked over to another desk. She grabbed a briefcase and opened it.  
“The fuck is this for,” Mark asked as he looked in the case.   
“Language,” Steve said scolding Mark.   
Mark glared at Steve, “Andrea cursed, and you said nothing…”  
“Cause I am his favorite,” Andrea gloated. Andrea reached in and grabbed shackles from the container. “But yeah, I agree with Mark. They said these either go on or its an automatic fail for the kids.”  
“Now I am worried…” Steve said looking at Mark.   
“Well, would it make you less worried to know your best friend is the one who is guarding me?” Mark said with a smile.   
Steve turned to look at Bucky. “What? I can’t do that for the test,” Bucky said.   
“And why not?” Andrea asked.   
Bucky pulled back his shirt to reveal his stitches from his wound. “I have broken bones and skill healing. I am benched remember. I can’t do it.”  
“Shit!” Andrea said running back to her computer.   
“She forgot,” Mark said following Andrea.   
“She sure did,” Bucky said.   
“I didn’t forget…” Andrea protested. “I just was focusing on the bigger picture and not the small details.”  
Mark laughed as he looked at Bucky.   
“What?” Bucky asked.   
“You’re a small detail,” Mark said with a smile.   
Bucky punched Mark in the arm. “Shut up,” Bucky said with a smile.   
“Enough with the bromance! I need to figure it this out,” Andrea said in a panic.   
“Why not have Steve do it?” Mark asked.   
Andrea turned to look at Mark then to Steve.   
“I can’t I’m benched too,..”  
“Until you go to therapy. You went and have been going, right?” Mark asked cutting Steve off.   
“Yeah three sessions, but…”  
“Then he should be able to do an exercise, I mean it's not a real mission,” Mark said explaining it to Andrea.   
Andrea felt her panic go down. “You know that would work perfectly. Mark is right, this isn’t a mission. Bucky has an injury, he can’t do it. You need to Steve.” Andrea said almost begging Steve as she grabbed his hand.   
Steve took in a deep breath and looked at Mark.   
“You know you will feel better being the one guarding me. You will be right there watching out for me,” Mark said smiling.   
Steve smiled as he shook his head. “I hate it how well you know me,” Steve said looking at Andrea. “Alright what do I need to do?”  
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,” Andrea said as she jumped to hug Steve. Steve almost fell over with how quickly Andrea jumped to hug him. “It’s simple really,” Andrea said running over to zoom out of the center room. “You will be the guard for Mark. He will be in that cell, your job will be to keep the Mark contained. If the kids come in you, stop them. If they try and bust him out discretely and you find out, you stop them. You are the last line of defense to keep Mark in the cell.” Andrea went over and grabbed a Comlink. “You will be able to hear the other members, but we decided to disable communication with you. So you need to use your best judgment.”  
“Hasn’t been the best over the last couple of months,” Bucky said. Mark was about to punch Bucky, but then stopped himself and lowered his fist. “Why did you stop?” Bucky asked.   
“Cause it’s true,” Mark said.   
“Great now I have the two of you picking on me?” Steve asked.   
“Now you know how I feel when Tony and Mark pick on me. Plus they are right,” Andrea said handing Steve the Comlink.   
Steve took it and put it in his ear. “I also have you and Natasha and Tony reminding me. Plus Clint’s blunt words…”  
“Maybe we should let up some on Steve?” Mark asked Bucky.   
“Nah, not till the wedding anyway,” Bucky said.   
“For once, I agree with Bucky,” Andrea said walking over to the computer. “Alright, you two can take that Elevator to the central room,” Andrea said pointing at the elevator. “Once there, shackles go on, and Mark goes in the cell. Oh and this,” Andrea said holding a key card for Steve. “This is the Key to the cell. It will be on you and only you for the test.”  
“Wait there won’t be any other way to let Mark out?” Steve said confused.   
Andrea sighed, “I can unlock it from here. But in this simulation. You are the only one with the key.”  
“Alright… do I have time to change into a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform?” Steve asked.   
Andrea looked at the clock, “Shit no time, we have about 10 minutes before we start. You can’t go to S.H.I.E.L.D. and get a uniform and come back in that time,” Andrea said in a panic.   
“Guess you are fighting in Jeans and my tee-shirt,” Mark said to Steve.   
Steve looked down and smiled when he noticed his shirt. “Sorry, guess I will never grow out of that habit.”  
“I wouldn’t want you to,” Mark said smiling. And Andrea could see a red hue go across Steve’s face. “Alright, so elevator and then the room. We got this.”  
“I will stay here to see how it goes. I would rather be here than with the board members,” Bucky said.   
“I think Tony would rather be here than at Stark Industries too,” Andrea said looking back to the computer.   
Andrea heard the ding of the elevator and then turned to see the doors close.   
“How likely do you think they will pull something?” Bucky asked Andrea.   
“I already planned for them to pull something. There is no doubt in my mind they will,” Andrea said turning to the computer. “Be my extra set of eyes and keep an eye out.”  
“Will do,” Bucky said.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35  
Mark  
Mark was struggling to put on the shackles as he and Steve rode the elevator down. “Hey, can you help me with these?” Mark asked.   
“Sure,” Steve said as he took the shackles from Mark. Mark put out his arms for Steve to put them on Mark.   
“You know I always wondered what it would be like if we used handcuffs,” Mark said without thinking. Mark saw Steve stop putting on the second handcuff and Mark looked up to see Steve holding back a laugh. Steve’s face was completely red at the moment. Mark smiled when he saw this reaction. “Did you think about it before too?”   
Steve finally let out his laugh. After a few seconds, he calmed down and went back to putting the handcuff on Mark. “I don’t know if it is okay to say…”  
“Steve,” Mark said cutting Steve off as the second cuff clicked. “We have done a lot of fun stuff. If you ever thought of something, you should tell me. It might be fun.”  
Mark watched as Steve turned to hid his blush. Steve had a thought, and he kept it from Mark. “I think we should try to not keep things from one another. I mean I want to be with you for the long haul, Steve,” Mark said.   
“Yeah,” Steve said.   
“Yeah?” Mark asked.   
“I thought of it. I mean I heard about it from others, specifically Tony. And I thought of it. I just didn’t know how you would take it. I’m not used to saying that type of stuff,” Steve confessed.   
“Since when did you ever feel like what was done in the sheets as a bad thing?” Mark asked.   
“I never did, but that was why I didn’t tell you. It was all amazing, and I didn’t want you to think I felt like it wasn’t. I don’t know Mark…” Steve said as he trailed off.   
There was a period of silence before Mark broke it. “So you wanted me to cuff you…”  
“No,” Steve said cutting Mark off. Mark turned to Steve, curiosity-filled Mark’s mind. “I wanted to put them on you.”  
Mark smiled a mischievous smile. “So Steve Rogers wanted to be the one in control? This is new.”  
“Well,” Steve rubbed the back of his neck as he confessed. “Yeah, I did. I mean I want to know what it’s like. But I was worried you wouldn’t want to do it, and it would make it awkward.”  
Mark put his hand on Steve’s harm, which was weird being shackled at the moment. Steve turned to Mark, and Mark smiled. “Never feel that way. It could be fun, Steve. But this isn’t the way I wanted you to try it for the first time. It’s weird to be going into this knowing you could be slightly turned on by it all.”  
Steve blushed as he turned away. “Sometimes I forgot,” Steve said.   
Mark was confused now. “Forget what?”   
“Forget you’re not like other people. You never made me feel judged or worried to say anything to you. I just forget I can fully be me around you. I needed reminders about it ever since the Board Members came into the picture,” Steve said.   
“Is that what you’ve been working on in therapy?” Mark asked.   
“Sort of,” Steve confessed. “I mean we talk about my anxiety and worries along with the PTSD but every time I go into therapy…” Steve paused for a moment. Mark waited knowing Steve would finish the thought when he was ready. “I leave therapy realizing I love you more than when I went in. Ever time we talk about you, I am just reminded of how much I care about you. I have been working on my guilt too. Guilt from putting you through all this. I can’t thank you enough for putting up with it all.”  
Mark smiled when Steve turned to him. Then Mark eyed the numbers above the elevator door knowing they were close to the floor. Mark sighed then hit the emergency stop button.   
“What are you doing?” Steve asked.   
“Shut up,” Mark said as he pushed Steve against the wall and kissed him. Mark held Steve there as he kissed him deeply but couldn’t hold Steve like he normally did because of the shackles. Mark pulled from the kiss and saw Steve smile then look around.   
“Calm down, I looked. No cameras. We are fine, and we have a few minutes,” Mark said as he slowly came in close to Steve. Mark saw Steve smile again then turn to push Mark against the wall. Steve grabbed the shackles and held it above Mark’s head making Mark’s arms go up. Mark was against the wall and pinned.   
“So this is what you wanted?” Mark asked.   
Steve kissed Mark and Mark could feel Steve holding him back maintaining the control. Steve pulled back and smiled as he looked at Mark. Mark noticed Steve eye Mark up and down before he came in for another kiss. Then Steve let go of the shackles, and Mark’s arms went down. Steve pulled from the kiss and turned to hit the emergency stop button again for the elevator to begin again. Mark was stunned at what happened, and he wasn’t going to lie, he enjoyed it. He turned to Steve who tired to keep looking forward. Mark then noticed Steve move his pants a little and pull them down a tad. Mark laughed.   
‘What?” Steve asked looking at Mark.   
“Glad you enjoyed it, Steve,” Mark said knowing Steve had to adjust after that situation.   
“I can’t help it…I just wish…” Steve began.   
“I know,” Mark said knowing what Steve was going to say. “Once we’re done with the board members then we can do what we want.” Mark saw Steve smile as he nodded. “Oh and Steve?” Mark asked.   
Steve turned his head to look at Mark.  
“Don’t hide any more fun fantasies from me, okay?” Mark said. Steve laughed as he looked down with a blush.   
“Alright, I won’t,” Steve said, and the doors opened.   
Mark walked over to the cell he would be waiting in. Steve held the keycard to the electronic lock, and it opened. Mark walked in and turned around to see Steve closing the door.   
“I hope me being the prisoner and you being the security guard won’t make your pants tight again,” Mark said jokingly.   
Steve laughed, “Shut up, Mark.” Mark was happy to see this side of Steve. Then Mark saw Steve turn around and walk near the door. Steve was listening in on his Comlink. Now came the boring part.   
Mark needed to wait for a while. He hated not knowing the updates to everything going on. He should have asked for a Comlink too, but he might have given things away if he knew what the kids were up to and the others didn’t. Mark watched as Steve paced back and fourth in the room.   
“You are making me dizzy,” Mark said.   
“Sorry,” Steve said. “Just trying to make sure I have eyes on the whole room.”  
“Can you at least tell me what is going on?” Mark asked. “I am bored out of my fucking mind!” Mark said as he sat down.   
“I don’t think I should. Plus it is hard to tell. I get the info, but I don’t know the sectors or the rooms like everyone else. It sounds like Clint is down. I don’t know who took him out,” Steve said.   
“Brian and Pietro,” Mark said back. Steve looked at Mark.   
“You know?” Steve asked.   
“It is a guess, but I would think that’s who I would send against Clint. He trained them, so they know his weaknesses as much as he knows theirs. If I were them, I would have Peter and Nadia go stealth to scope out the area. Monica and Wanda might be the best to take down Natasha or Rhodey. I would guess they would avoid Natasha. Brian would plan on how to take down Joey, he might have Pietro help with that and maybe Peter. Greer would work to take on same with Nadia. Greer would be lookout as well. Her enhanced sensed would help her identify when someone was approaching,” Mark explained.   
“Did you help them cheat?” Steve asked crossing his arms. “Cause that’s exactly what it sounds like is happening.”  
“I didn’t help them cheat, I trained them. It took a while to get them to stop and think before going in guns a blazing. Plus I couldn’t help them cheat, you’re here. They wouldn’t expect you here. I would think Jennifer would be left for Bucky. But you might be able to handle She-hulk on your own,” Mark said defending himself.   
“Sometimes I am amazed at how you are with those kids,” Steve said as he continued his pacing with a smile on his face.   
“Stop thinking about it,” Mark said. Steve turned to Mark.   
“What?” Steve asked.   
“You know what,” Mark said back.   
“You would make a good dad, is all I will say,” Steve said as he smiled and continued his walk.   
“Ugh!” Mark said as he fell to the floor. He was not only bored but now had to deal with Steve thinking of kids again. Instead of thinking of all that, Mark enjoyed the cool floor for a moment. He figured he could get in a good rest before the kids broke in to save him.   
Mark was laying on the floor for a while before he heard no sound. He was confused as he sat up, struggling to do so because of the shackles, to see Steve standing there listening in on the Comlink.   
“Everything okay?” Mark asked.   
“Not sure,” Steve said as he walked over to Mark. Steve took off his ComLink and held it near Mark’s head.   
“Ummm,” Mark said hesitantly.   
“Listen in, and you will know why I did it,” Steve said.   
Mark leaned in and heard the commotion on the Comlink.   
“We have an explosion on the west side. Unknown persons are breaking in heavily armed. This is not part of the exercise, repeat this is not part of the exercise. We need to cancel the test and focus on the intruders,” Mark heard as Sam shouted on the Comlink.  
“Intruders?” Mark asked looking at Steve. Steve nodded.   
“But there isn’t anything here to take or reason to break in,” Mark said looking at Steve.   
“You’re here,” Steve said as he stood up and walked to the lock. Mark stood up and waited for Steve to unlock the cell. Steve quickly pulled the key from his pocket. He struggled a little bit to put the key into the lock. He tried to turn it, but it didn’t move. Steve pulled the key out and put it back in to try again, but again the key wouldn’t turn.   
“Here,” Mark said reaching out for the key. Steve handed Mark the key, and he tried, but the key wouldn’t turn. Mark pulled the key out and looked at it. “This key doesn’t match this type of lock,” Mark said looking at Steve.   
“What do we do?” Steve asked as they both heard a blast and felt a rush of air from the source of the blast. Mark covered his face so dust wouldn’t get into his eyes. When it cleared, he looked to see a man in black armor walking into the room. The skull painted on his mask told Mark who it was. Mark turned as he heard Steve struggling to pull the bars to open the door.   
“Not gonna happen,” Crossbones said as he rushed forward and hit Steve before he could react.   
“Steve!” Mark shouted as he watched Steve tumble across the room. Mark turned to see Crossbones there looking at Steve. He was close enough, and Mark was able to reach through the bars to warp his shackle around Crossbone’s arm to pull it in. “Got you,” Mark said as he pulled tight.   
“Big mistake,” Crossbones said as his free arm pulled out a stun stick and zapped Mark. Mark convulsed before letting go and falling to the floor. “Bullets couldn’t kill you or explosions, but it seems you can’t do anything against electricity,” Crossbones said looking down at Mark. “But tell me, how did that old soldier end up in the hospital, and you walked away clean when the bullet when through your chest too?”  
Mark still felt the shocks running through him but was able to look up and glare at Crossbones.   
“Not gonna answer? I will get it out of you soon enough,” Crossbones said as he dodged a swing from Steve. Crossbones blocked the next hit and then hit Steve with his metal glove that protruded out of from his fist. “I will get the answer out of you soon,” Crossbones said as he placed a device on the bars and turned it on. “Until then I am going to take care of this soldier. I will take him down like the other then deal with you. This should hold you.” Crossbones walked over to where Steve was, leaving Mark there.   
“Mark could still feel pain from the shock. That was no normal stun stick. It could have killed him if he was shocked for any longer. Mark was able to slowly get himself up, still on his hands and knees as he heard the sounds of fighting coming from the room. He needed to help Steve. Mark forced himself up and walked over to the bars. He touched them and felt a shock before he was blasted back again.   
“Mark!” Mark heard from the ground. He knew the voice, but his muscles were not responding how they should with the shocks running through them. He felt his arms and legs shake a little as he forced himself up again. Mark almost fell when he felt his arm move without command. He caught himself when he looked at the device on the bars. It must be the thing sending the electricity through the bars. Mark reached to his leg where he lifted his jeans. He revealed a hidden dagger. He pulled it out and put it between a chain in the cuff. He then maneuvered his body so his foot could push against the knife, wedging the chain hoping to break it. Mark tried once and found the chain was strong, or he was weak from the shocks. He took a deep breath as he looked at Steve and Crossbones. Steve was able to block a few hits then Mark saw Steve take a hit only to get close enough to punch Crossbones in the face. Mark could hear Crossbones laugh as he punched Steve in the chest knocking him into the air and on his back. Mark looked down at the shackles again, he decided to give it one good hit. Mark slammed hard on the dagger and pushed. He felt the cuffs cut into his skin, he wished he had his abilities back now, but he didn’t since saving Bucky. He pushed harder, and he heard a snap but saw the blade fall off on the dagger. Mark was stunned, the cuffs were undamaged. He looked at his wrists, both bleeding because of how hard he pushed, but the cuffs had no damage on them. Mark held the chains closer to examine them. His eyes went wide as he realized what they were made of.   
“So finally figured it out,” Mark heard as Crossbones looked over at him. “We didn’t want to take any chances, so we had those custom made for you.”  
Mark turned back to the chains, this confirmed his theory. Vibranium…he didn’t know how but the board members got a hold of the metal and made cuffs out of it for him. Mark heard a loud his as he turned to see Steve fall to the ground.   
“Not much without your shield I see. And your little assassin is trapped in there. I am going to have fun tormenting you. Tell me though, are the rumors true?” Crossbones asked.   
“What rumors?” Steve asked to buy more time for everyone. Mark stood up as he walked over to the bars.   
“You know, Captain American and the World’s Deadliest Assassin. Heard you two might be an item. Not many people would be happy about that. I was told to rough you both up, but I wanted to know if it was true,” Crossbones asked.   
Steve stood up and just looked at Crossbones. “Why does it matter?”   
“Like I said was just curious. I thought you would have put up more of a fight knowing I am going to kill him later,” Crossbones said those words and Steve looked at Mark. Mark tried to convey to Steve to not react. Mark remained calm looking at Steve, and somehow, by some miracle, Steve was able to remain calm as he stood there. Mark worried this is what Crossbones was after, to confirm the rumors. If Steve gave into his emotions, they would be outed for sure. Mark looked down at the chains again. He knew there was a way to break it, but he feared the pain.   
“He is trapped you know. He isn’t crazy enough to break those chains,” Crossbones said as Steve came in to fight. Steve swung, and Crossbones dodged hitting Steve in the back. Steve fell to the floor where Crossbones kicked Steve in the check. Mark saw Steve cough up blood.   
This is when Mark couldn’t control his emotions. “This is going to hurt,” Mark said as he pulled his hands apart then pushed the chain as hard as he could against the bar of the cell.   
Crossbones stopped and turned to look at the sparks and electricity flying from Mark. “He is insane,” Crossbones said as he felt his legs get swept from underneath him and Stev slammed Crossbones down hard to the ground knocking the wind out of him. Steve then returned a kick to Crossbones sending him rolling in the opposite direction of Mark.   
Steve then quickly ran to Mark. Steve was about to help when Mark shouted, “Don’t touch me!” Mark yelled in pain after he said those words and fell to one knee.   
“What are you doing?” Steve shouted back.   
“Breaking the chain, I need to overload the metal!” Mark shouted back. “Stand Back!”  
Steve listened and took a few steps back to see Crossbones coming in again. Steve braced himself for the onslaught of attacks.   
Mark looked to see Steve able to block the hits. Mark wasn’t sure how long he needed to keep this up. He was sure his brain was going to explode. He looked at the chain as it began to glow more and more. It was working, the electricity was overloading the metal.   
Steve blocked a hit then was caught by a left hook knocking him to the ground. Mark watched as Crossbones pulled out a gun and aimed it at Steve.   
“I think it is time we ended this,” Crossbones said then Mark saw the chain glow white. Mark closed his eyes, and then he heard the metal explode.   
Steve saw a flash of light from the where Mark was. It was so bright it blinded Steve. Crossbones was blinded by it as well.   
Before anyone could focus, Mark came in and hit Crossbones a few times in the chest with the broken metal bar from the cell, using it like a bo. Mark then slammed it against Crossbones head and kicked him sending Crossbones back against the wall. Mark stood there, unsure of the damage he caused to his body. He felt the electricity still running through him, and he was sure he could see it travel across his body as he looked down at his bloody arms. His arms were not only cut from the cuffs, but the metal exploded, cutting into his arms and even some fragments flying into his chest. He didn’t care about the damage, he needed to protect Steve.   
“I heard you were impossible to kill, but I wouldn’t imagine how crazy you were with your life,” Crossbones said as he stood up.   
Mark readied himself but then felt his leg spasm, and he fell to one knee. Mark looked over at Steve who was still on the ground. “Sorry,” Mark said.   
Before Steve could respond Mark felt a hit across his head as he fell to the ground.   
“I knew electricity would be too much for your body. Not able to control it I see,” Crossbones said as he went in for a kick. Mark blocked the kick and rolled to get up. He felt his leg spasm again but stood his ground. “How long are you going to keep this up?”   
Mark didn’t answer Crossbones. He was going to fight until he couldn’t anymore. Mark prepared to run forward, but his legs didn’t listen to him, and they gave up on him causing Mark to crash to the ground. Mark could hear Crossbones laughing.   
“How many volts? How much did it take for you to be in this weakened state? I thought I was being overly cautious with that machine, but I guess I should have gotten a stronger one. You still have some fight in ya,” Crossbones said as he shot his gun. Mark felt the bullet go into his leg, but he didn’t let out a scream. Instead, he just glared at Crossbones.   
“I heard of those eyes. You want me dead. You won’t even give me the joy of hearing you beg for your life through your screams,” Crossbones said as he walked over and kneed down to Mark. “But I’m not going to die. I already told you, one of two people will die. Either you,” Crossbones turned to let Mark see Steve, “or him.”  
Mark grabbed Crossbones gun at this moment and spun his body around to kick Crossbones. Mark was able to grab the gun and aim it at Crossbones as Crossbones fell to the ground. Mark through he had the advantage, but Crossbones was laughing.   
“You are unbelievable, you know that?” Thousands of volts of electricity went through your body, metal from the cuffs cut your body up, and your shot, and still you fight back…only when he is threatened…”  
Mark’s eyes went wide when he realized what Crossbones meant. “Shit,” Mark said in a low voice.   
“I knew it wasn’t just a rumor…” Crossbones said slowly getting up. “I told you they wouldn’t stand for it. They said one of you needs to go, but listen I will do you a favor. I will let you decide.” Crossbones slowly began to walk over to Mark. “Here and now, I will only take one life. You pick, either you or,” Crossbones looked at Steve, “him.”   
Mark turned to Steve. Steve struggled to get up to help Mark. He must have some internal bleeding. Mark closed his eyes as he turned his head away from Steve.   
“Don’t do it!” Mark heard. With that, Mark readied his aim at Crossbones as he opened his eyes.   
“You know I will just be back harder. Or if you kill me what will stop them from hiring someone stronger? Or them finding someone to do the job which is close to him?” Crossbones said as he continued to walk to Mark. “You know the right choice.”  
“Or there is a third option!” Mark heard as he saw the shine from a metal arm knocking Crossbones back a few feet. Mark turned to see Bucky standing there. Mark let himself fell to the floor when he realized Bucky was there.   
“Hey,” Bucky said catching Mark. Mark saw Steve run over to him and Bucky. “Sorry I’m late, Andrea needed to hack the elevators.”  
“Glad you made it,” Steve said as he grabbed Mark. Mark just collapsed onto Steve.   
“He has been through it,” Bucky said taking the gun from Mark’s hand.  
“I don’t know why he keeps doing this,” Steve said as he hugged Mark tight.  
“You idiot,” Mark felt Steve raise his head quickly looking at Bucky. “He does it for one reason, you.”  
That’s when Mark was reminded about what secret he let out. The hard work he and Steve had been through this whole time was now out. And Crossbones was catching onto his other secret. Mark could only think of how he messed this up as he closed his eyes. The only other thing he could feel were Steve’s lips press against his forehead.


End file.
